Ninth Inning Rally Falls Short as Ospreys Drop Heartbreaker to Stetson

Sunday, April 29

Jacksonville, Fla.

1 p.m.

University of North Florida

25-18, 7-11

Stetson

29-14, 11-7

Stetson

North Florida

Ninth Inning Rally Falls Short as Ospreys Drop Heartbreaker to Stetson

4/29/2012 3:45:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

Boxscore

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida tried to mount its second consecutive come from behind victory against Stetson but the ninth inning rally fell short and the Ospreys fell 2-1 to Stetson on Sunday afternoon at Dusty Rhodes Field at Harmon Stadium.

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Tyler Marincov led off the inning with a triple off the left center field wall. After a pitching change, Ryan Roberson drove home Marincov with an RBI groundout, cutting the score to 2-1. With two outs, Alex Bacon drove a ball to deep left field, but the Stetson left fielder caught the ball at the wall to give the Hatters a 2-1 victory.

Throughout the game, the North Florida defense kept Stetson off the scoreboard and kept the game in reach.

Starting pitcher Tyler Moore took the hard-luck loss for the Ospreys. The sophomore tossed 8.0 innings, facing one batter in the ninth inning. He scattered seven hits on the day, surrendering two runs with only one earned run in the loss. Moore allowed two walks and struck out a pair. Evan Stermer pitched the final inning. He did not allow a hit, but was charged with a pivotal balk that moved the Hatters' insurance run to third base.

Offensively, the Ospreys managed just four hits, led by Marincov's two base knocks. Marincov tripled and added a single on the day, scoring UNF's only run. Andrew Karmeris and Bacon each had base hits, while Roberson drove home the only run of the day for the Ospreys. UNF left six runners stranded on base, including four in scoring position.

Moore worked out of a jam in the top of the first inning thanks to excellent defense. With two runners on and one out, Moore induced a line drive double play to Joe Wielbruda at second base who quickly flipped the ball to T.J. Gavlik to end the inning and the threat. The double play was the fifth of the weekend for the Ospreys who entered the weekend first in the A-Sun in double plays turned and third in the NCAA in the category.

Moore and the Ospreys were unable to escape the second inning unblemished. The leadoff batter reached base on a fielding error by North Florida. A walk gave the Hatters a pair of base runners and a sacrifice fly moved both runners into scoring position. Stetson used a RBI groundout by Tanner Blackman to plate the first runner of the game. The run was unearned, but saw the Ospreys down 1-0 early.

In the bottom of the inning, North Florida threatened but was unable to tie the game. Marincov led off the inning with a check-swing single that rolled about five feet in front of the Stetson catcher. He moved into scoring position on a ground out, but would go no further as a fly ball and a ground out ended the inning.

The Hatters threatened in the top of the fourth inning, but were unable to score. After a leadoff double, the Ospreys used back-to-back fly balls to record the first two outs of the inning, while the base runner was only able to move to third. UNF used a third fly ball to end the inning and strand the runner.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Ospreys were helped out by the Hatters, but failed to scratch the scoreboard. With two outs, Marincov and Roberson each reached base thanks to back-to-back throwing errors by Stetson's shortstop. North Florida was unable to break through on the scoreboard as a strikeout ended the inning and the threat.

UNF's defense came through in the top of the fifth inning to prevent any additional runs by Stetson. The leadoff batter walked, but Moore was able to get the next batter to foul off a two-strike bunt attempt for his first strikeout of the game. The next batter followed with a single to shallow left field to give the Hatters a pair of base runners. The two base runners successfully executed a double steal to both move 90 feet closer to home. The next ground the ball to third base, where A. Karmeris alertly threw home, catching the lead runner in a rundown for the second out of the inning. Moore induced a groundout back to the mound for the final out of the inning, leaving the score at 1-0 at the midway point of the game.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Ospreys placed the tying run on second base, but were unable to tie the game. With one out, Wielbruda drew a walk to give UNF a base runner. Wielbruda advanced to second base on a wild pitch with two outs, but was unable to advance anymore as a fly ball ended the inning.

North Florida's defense came through again in the top of the seventh. With one out, Stetson placed a runner on first after an infield single. The Ospreys recorded the second out with a fly ball to right and ended the inning as Corey Bass threw caught the runner trying to steal.

The Ospreys threatened again in the bottom of the seventh inning. With one out, A. Karmeris and Bacon recorded back-to-back singles to place the tying run on second and the go-ahead run on first. The Hatters responded by striking out the next batter and inducing a fly ball out to end the inning.

North Florida's defense continued to excel as Drew Weeks showed off his arm in left field. The leadoff batter in the top of the eighth inning singled to left field. The runner tried to extend the single into a double, but Weeks fired a strike to Wielbruda at second base to gun down the runner. Moore induced a ground ball to short and struck out the next batter for a 1-2-3 inning.

Stetson added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning. The leadoff batter singled to left center field, prompting the Ospreys to go to the bullpen. Stetson advanced the runner to second with a sacrifice bunt. With one out and a runner on second base, the Ospreys were called for a balk to move the runner to third base. The Hatters used a sacrifice fly to center field to score the runner and extended their advantage to 2-0. The Ospreys used a line drive out to the pitcher to end the inning and set up the dramatic ninth inning finish.

North Florida returns to action on Tuesday, May 1, as the Ospreys open a two-game non-conference series on the road against The Citadel. Game one of the series is lasted for 6 p.m. Live stats and in-game Tweets (@UNFOspreys) will be available throughout the game.