University of North Florida
Belmont
Softball Continues Conference Road Swing with Belmont and Lipscomb
4/7/2011 1:45:00 PM | Softball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida softball team (19-20, 3-5 A-Sun) continues its eight-game Atlantic Sun Conference road trip this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders against Belmont (7-26, 0-6 A-Sun) and Lipscomb (18-12, 5-1 A-Sun).
The Ospreys will play both series in Nashville, Tenn., first meeting the Bruins on Friday at 5 p.m. (ET) at E.S. Rose Park followed by a matchup against the conference-leader Lady Bisons on Saturday at 2 p.m. (ET) at Draper Diamond. The game against Belmont at E.S. Rose Park will mark the first game ever played at the new park.
The Ospreys enter the weekend after having swept its first A-Sun foe of the 2011 campaign, ETSU, last weekend. The squad was led by freshman Mariah Reynolds over the weekend who batted .417 (5-for-12) including a 3-for-4 game one against ETSU in which the rookie drove in five RBI, including a three-run homerun. Her five RBI in the game were the most in a single outing since Gwen Williams accomplished the feat against Rider on March 22, 2008.
Of North Florida's 20 losses, eight came at the hands of either nationally-ranked teams or squads that competed in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Freshman Cortney Radke leads North Florida in the circle, pitching 190 innings this season and boasting an ERA of 1.84. Radke has tallied five shutouts in 19 complete games on the year and has fanned 210 batters en route to a record of 17-12. At the plate, Reynolds is hitting .282 on the season with four homeruns and a team-high 10 doubles. In conference play, junior Kaley Brosky is batting an impressive .435 (10-of-23) with two doubles and two triples.
Belmont is currently on a 10-game losing streak and winless in the conference, and has been run-ruled twice during that span, as North Florida visits the Bruins this weekend. The Bruins have are led at the plate by Stayci Cook who is hitting .282 at this point in the season with one homerun and two doubles. The team has Ashley Byers to turn to for power who leads the team with seven homeruns, eight doubles and 21 RBI this season. In the circle, Belmont's Devon Schmidt has worked 115.1 innings to a 6-12 record and 3.40 ERA, including 97 strikeouts.
In the all-time series, the Ospreys hold a considerable 8-2 advantage over the Bruins. North Florida has claimed the three last meetings by a combined score of 23-5, while Belmont won its two games in the series on March 28, 2009 and March 31, 2007 – both in Nashville.
After playing Belmont, the Ospreys will face off against Lipscomb, the preseason favorite to win the A-Sun Conference regular season and tournament titles. The Lady Bison also competed in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, eventually falling in the Regional final to No. 1 overall seed Alabama. Lipscomb has lost just once in conference play this year, falling to Campbell on April 1, 5-3.
Lipscomb is paced at the plate by Breanna Thurman who is hitting .361, smacking five homeruns on the year to go along with a four doubles and 15 RBI. As a team, the Lady Bison have belted 31 homeruns on the year, while allowing opponents to just 14. Whitney Kiihnl has worked the most time in the circle, hurling 138.1 innings to a record of 14-6 and ERA of 1.32 entering weekend play.
North Florida has matched up against Lipscomb just 10 times, and trails the series 4-6 all-time. After the Ospreys defeated Lipscomb in four of the first five games of the series, the Lady Bison claimed the last five meetings between the two schools. North Florida hasn't beaten Lispcomb since a 1-0 victory in Jacksonville on March 14, 2008 and holds just a 1-3 record in Nashville against the Lady Bison.
