Boxscore
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida baseball team collected 14 hits en route to an 11-3 victory over Georgia Southern on Wednesday night at Dusty Rhodes Field at Harmon Stadium.
North Florida collected 14 hits, including a double, a triple and two home runs as they cruised to victory. Seven players in the Osprey lineup recorded a hit in the game with five players boasting multiple hits in the game.
Freshman Alex Hernandez and senior Kyle Dahl led all Ospreys with three hits apiece. Hernandez finished the game 3-for-3 with three singles and a pair of walks. Dahl finished the game 3-for-5 with a single, double and a home run. Dahl drove in a game-high three batters, while scoring a team-high three runs. True freshman Alex Bacon belted his first collegiate home run, while fellow freshman Tyler Marincov hit the first triple of the season for North Florida.
On the mound, Marshal Rosenberger earned the victory in his first collegiate start. The sophomore redshirted his rookie season and missed the 2010 season with an injury. In his first outing in a UNF uniform, Rosenberger worked 5.2 innings, scattering five hits. He surrendered a pair of runs. Rosenberger walked three, but struck out five batters.
Josh Patton, Tyler Moore and Clayton Schulz also pitched for North Florida, combining for the final 3.1 innings of work. The trio scattered three hits, allowing one run and striking out three batters.
North Florida jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Hernandez led off the game with a single to center field. Michael Smith followed with a single to right field. A fielder's choice left UNF with runners on first and second with one out. Marincov followed with a single through the right side of the infield, loading the bases. Dahl delivered a two-RBI single up the middle to give North Florida a 2-0 lead. Bacon singled to load the bases for the second time in the inning. Andrew Hannon singled to left field to drive in the third run of the inning. A sacrifice fly by Sam Perry scored the final run of the inning and gave North Florida a 4-0 advantage after one inning of play.
The Ospreys added four more runs in the bottom of the third inning. Dahl doubled to left center field with one out and Bacon recorded his first collegiate home run to push the UNF lead to 6-0. Back-to-back singles by Hannon and Perry continued the inning and a wild pitch moved the duo into scoring position. After a pitching change, Hernandez drove in Hannon and Perry with a two-RBI single through the left side of the infield, giving UNF an 8-0 lead.
Georgia Southern scratched the scoreboard with a run in the top of the fourth inning. The Eagles opened the inning with back-to-back singles, but a double play left GSU with a runner on second and two outs. A single to left center field plated the runner and trimmed the Ospreys' lead to 8-1.
North Florida got the run back with one swing as Dahl homered to left center field.
The Eagles added runs in the top of the sixth and eighth innings. Georgia Southern used three hits to score a run in the sixth inning. A triple and an RBI groundout in the eighth inning cut the UNF advantage to 9-3.
The Ospreys responded with two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. A pair of errors and a walk loaded the bases with no outs. A second walk scored the first run of the inning and a sacrifice fly provided the final margin of victory at 11-3.
North Florida returns to action against Florida Gulf Coast, as the Ospreys open Atlantic Sun Conference play with a three-game series against the defending A-Sun Champions. First pitch of the series is slated for Friday, March 4, at 7:00 p.m.
