UNF to Open A-Sun Tournament with ETSU

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Schedule (pdf)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In the first year since becoming eligible for the postseason, the University of North Florida baseball team qualified for the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament and will face East Tennessee State in the opening round. The Ospreys are the No. 4 seed and will take on the No. 3 Bucs at 8 p.m. (ET) at Ken Dugan Field on the campus of Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn.

The Ospreys finished the regular season 29-26 with a 14-12 record in the Atlantic Sun Conference. UNF is eligible for the tournament for the first time, after successfully completing a four-year reclassification period to full Division I membership status in which North Florida could not compete in the postseason.

UNF joins fellow Florida schools Florida Gulf Coast (No. 1), Jacksonville (No. 5) and Stetson (No. 6) in the tournament. FGCU won the regular season for the third consecutive season and, like UNF, is eligible for postseason play for the first time this year. Jacksonville is the defending A-Sun Tournament Champion, winning the rain-shortened tournament last season. In addition to the Florida schools, Mercer (No. 2) and ETSU (No. 3) round out the field of competition.

North Florida has a 6-6 (.500) record this season against teams that advanced to the A-Sun Championship. The Ospreys were swept by the top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast last weekend on the road in Fort Myers, Fla. UNF did not compete against Mercer this season, but claimed 2-1 series victories against East Tennessee State, Jacksonville and Stetson.

The Ospreys head into their first postseason season appearance at the Division I level led by a pair of All-Atlantic Sun Conference selections. Preston Hale, who was named First Team Academic All-American, and Justin Preckajlo each earned all-conference accolades. Hale was named to the first team, while Preckajlo was a second team selection.

Hale led the team in batting average, on-base percentage, hits, RBI, doubles, total bases and walks. Preckajlo is the team leader in slugging percentage and home runs. The duo is tied for the UNF lead in runs scored, triples and stolen bases.

The 2010 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Championship begins Wednesday with contests from Dugan Field on the campus of Lipscomb University. ASun.TV will feature all of the games at no cost for viewers, while live scoring can be seen at LipscombSports.com during the four-day event.

The championship begins Wednesday with a matchup between No. 1 FGCU and No. 6 Stetson at noon (ET), No. 2 Mercer and No. 5 Jacksonville will face each other in a game scheduled for 4 p.m. (ET).

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