Baseball Opens Up Season, Laval Era

Game Notes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida baseball team opens up the 2011 season on the road with a three-game series against Charleston Southern this Friday, Feb. 18 through Sunday, Feb. 20. Each game is slated for 2 p.m.

The games not only mark the start of season for the Ospreys, it also signifies the beginning of the Smoke Laval Era at North Florida. Laval is college baseball veteran with head coaching stops at LSU and the University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM). (Laval Bio)

North Florida and Charleston Southern have met only on the baseball diamond once before. The Ospreys claimed a 6-1 victory over the Buccaneers on March 3, 1995 at Harmon Stadium in Jacksonville.

The three-game series marks the first time that the Ospreys will play in the city of Charleston, S.C. UNF has played Charleston Southern (W, 6-1 – 3/3/95) and the Citadel (W, 7-4 – 3/4/95) each once, but both games were in Jacksonville.

The Ospreys welcome 17 new players to the roster in 2011, meaning that 48.6-percent of the entire roster is new. Of the 18 returning players, only eight have played on the team for more than one season of which six are seniors.

The 2010 North Florida baseball team became the first UNF team to be eligible for postseason play after sitting out four seasons (2006-09) due to NCAA Division I reclassification rules. The Ospreys secured a spot in the Atlantic Sun Tournament for the first time in school history. At the tournament, the Ospreys recorded their first A-Sun Tournament victory – a 13-2 win over No. 28 Florida Gulf Coast.

The University of North Florida has always prided itself on homegrown talent and 2011 is no different. Of the 35 players on the Ospreys roster, thirty-three (33) players are from the Sunshine State. One player hails from Oregon, while the remaining player on the roster is from Hong Kong, China.

Fans will be able to follow the game via live stats.

Scouting the Opposition:

Charleston Southern:

The weekend series opens the 2011 season for both Charleston Southern and North Florida. Last season, the Buccaneers finished the season 17-38. Head coach Stuart Lake enters his third season at the helm of the Bucs, and has guided the team to improvements in numerous areas in both of his previous seasons. A slew of experienced veterans, combined with a crop of talented newcomers, will no doubt help the Buccaneers exceed expectations and finish ahead of their preseason eighth place Big South ranking.

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