Baseball Returns Home to Face Mercer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida baseball team returns home to Dusty Rhodes Field at Harmon Stadium for a pivotal Atlantic Sun Conference match-up with Mercer over the weekend. The Ospreys and Bears take the field on Friday, Apr. 15, at 7:00 p.m. before playing single games on Saturday, Apr. 16 and Sunday, Apr. 17, at 1:00 p.m. both days.

North Florida enters the weekend with a 20-14 overall record and a 10-8 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference, while Mercer is 23-13 with an 8-9 mark in the conference. North Florida enters the weekend in fourth place in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings, while Mercer is currently in seventh. The Bears are two games back of the Ospreys in the win column, but just one game back in the loss column.

Stetson (12-3 A-Sun) enters the weekend in first place in the conference with East Tennessee State (11-5) in second place. Jacksonville (10-5) is ahead of the Ospreys in third place, while Kennesaw State (8-6) and Florida Gulf Coast (8-7) round out the top six. Mercer is in seventh followed by Belmont (6-9) and USC Upstate (6-10 – not eligible for the A-Sun Tournament). Lipscomb (3-9) and Campbell (2-13) close out the standings. Only the top six teams in the conference advance to the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.

The games will be aired on the radio on WHJX 105.7 FM. The game will also be streamed live on ASun.TV. Live stats will be available for all games.

The Ospreys and Bears have met 12 times in their history with UNF holding a slight 7-5 advantage in the series. UNF is 3-3 in Jacksonville against Mercer.

The last time the two teams met, North Florida claimed a 2-1 series win against Mercer in Jacksonville in 2009. The Ospreys swept a doubleheader (W, 10-0 in 7 innings and W, 8-6), but dropped the final game of the series 7-2.

Because of scheduling, North Florida played every team in the Atlantic Sun Conference last season except Mercer. The two teams failed to meet in the A-Sun Tournament, making Mercer the only conference team UNF did not play in 2010.

UNF enters the week with a 10-8 (.556) record in home games. The Ospreys have won four home games in a row and five of their last six games at Harmon Stadium. Also, the Ospreys have won three consecutive home conference games, sweeping Belmont at the end of March.

After opening the 2011 season 7-9, North Florida enters the weekend winners of 13 of their last 18 games, winning six of their last seven games overall. After starting the conference season 1-5, UNF has claimed four A-Sun series and won nine of their last 12 A-Sun games.

Scouting the Opposition:

The Mercer baseball team got back into the win column with a hard fought 8-4 victory over Savannah State on Tuesday evening at Claude Smith Field.

Mercer broke a three-game losing streak with the win against a scrappy Savannah State team that came into Tuesday's action on a five-game winning streak. The Bears three-game losing streak came at the hands of Jacksonville in Atlantic Sun Conference play.

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