Baseball Hosts Best Bet Classic to Open Season

The University of North Florida baseball team will open up its 2014 campaign on Friday when they host Liberty, the University of Richmond and the University of South Florida in the Best Bet Classic.

Live Stats (All Games)

UNF Game Notes
2014 Schedule
2013 Statistics

UNF Best Bet Classic Schedule

Friday: Liberty vs. UNF, 3:00 p.m.

Saturday: South Florida vs. Liberty, 12:00 p.m.; Richmond vs. South Florida, 3:00 p.m.; UNF vs. Richmond, 6:00 p.m.

Sunday: Liberty vs. Richmond, 12:00 p.m.; Richmond vs. UNF, 3:00 p.m.

Probable Starting Pitchers:
Friday: Tyler Moore vs. Trey Lembert (Liberty)
Saturday: David Trexler vs. Dylan Stoops (Richmond)
Sunday: Corbin Olmstead vs. TBA (USF)

Out of the Box

High Hopes: The Ospreys are coming off their best season at the Division I level after recording 40 wins in 2013. UNF finished third in the Atlantic Sun and qualified for the conference tournament for the second time in four seasons. It marked the 13th time in program history that the Ospreys reached the 40-win plateau and the first time since 2005.

Home Cooking: The Ospreys will open at home for the third-straight season. UNF is 12-2 all-time when opening up at home and 21-5 overall in season openers.

Preseason Honors: Starting pitcher Tyler Moore and outfielder Donnie Dewees were named to the Atlantic Sun Preseason All-Conference Team voted by the leagues coaches. Moore missed the majority of last season with an injury but managed two wins and finished with a 0.79 ERA. Dewees put together an impressive freshman campaign, leading the team with a .347 batting average.

Where Will They Finish? The Atlantic Sun Coaches are in agreement that the Ospreys are poised for big season. In this year's preseason poll, UNF was picked to finish second in the league.

Young Guns: The Ospreys return a slew of young talent from last year's team including three Freshman All-Americans. Shortstop Kyle Brooks, Dewees and two-way player Corbin Olmstead were all big contributors to last season's success. Olmstead collected honors from Louisville Slugger, the NCBWA and Perfect Game last season. Brooks appeared in 55 games and received honors from Louisville Slugger. Dewees was recognized by Louisville Slugger and the NCBWA.

Tough Slate: On the 2014 schedule the Ospreys have three teams ranked in the Perfect Game Top 25 (#13 North Carolina, #15 Florida and #24 Florida Atlantic). In addition, UNF will take on six NCAA Tournament teams (Liberty, Florida, Florida Atlantic, North Carolina, Savannah St. and Georgia Tech) from a year ago, the most of any Atlantic Sun school.

Top Seniors: Right-handed pitchers David Trexler and Tyler Moore were both listed on Perfect Game's Top 100 Seniors list earlier this week. Trexler was the top Osprey, listed as the no. 16 while Tyler Moore came in as the no. 52 senior in the country.

Season Outlook

UNF: The Ospreys are excited about the young talent on the 2014 roster but will have to replace a wealth of offensive production from a year ago. The 2013 Ospreys were one of the top offenses in the country, ranking seventh in team batting average (.316) and eighth in hits (686). Three of UNF's top five hitters from a year ago were lost to either graduation or the MLB draft. Outfielder Tyler Marincov was the Ospreys' top draft pick, taken in the eighth round by the Oakland Athletics. In three seasons, Marincov propelled himself into the top 10 of almost every offensive category in the UNF record books. Another position left up for grabs for the Ospreys will be the one behind the dish, left vacant by three-year starter Corey Bass.

The 2014 pitching staff will have a whole new look after losing the top four starters from a year ago. Senior Tyler Moore will return to the rotation after missing the majority of the 2013 season with an injury. In 2011 he garnered Freshman All-American honors and as a sophomore was a Second Team All-Atlantic Sun selection. He was recognized by the Atlantic Sun coaches as a Preseason All-Conference pick this season. Moving to the weekend rotation will be senior David Trexler and sophomore Corbin Olmstead. Trexler is regarded as the 16th best prospect in this year's senior class by Perfect Game. Coming off a impact year as a freshman in the bullpen Olmstead will transition to the starting pitcher role this season.

Among the 2014 recruiting class, is freshman Bryan Baker who was drafted out of high school in the by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Baker is expected to see time as a starter and also see action out of the bullpen. Junior College Transfer Trent Higginbothem is expected to get the nod at third base. The junior was a First Team All-American after batting over .400 at Tallahassee Community College.

Countdown to 100: Beginning his fourth season as head coach of the Ospreys, Smoke Laval is closing in on his 100th win at UNF. He comes into the season with 98 wins after the program's best season at the Division I level in 2013. UNF has improved every year under Laval who boasts a 549-338-1 record in 15 seasons as a coach at UNF, LSU and the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

A Look at Liberty: The Flames are coming off one of the best seasons in school history, reaching NCAA Regional Final for the first time in the 40-year history of the program. After winning the 2013 Big South Conference Championship, Liberty is ranked 35th in The Collegiate Newspaper's 2014 Fabulous 40 NCAA Division I preseason baseball poll.

A Look at Richmond: The Spiders will be under the direction of first-year Head Coach, Tracy Woodson in 2014. Richmond is was selected to finish fourth in the Atlantic-10 this season and return the A-10 Rookie of the year in OF Tanner Stanley. Richmond finished the 2013 season with an overall record of 31-24

A Look at South Florida: Competing in their first season in the American Athletic Conference, the Bulls enter 2014 with a pair of talented sophomores in Jimmy Herget and Nik Alfonso. Herget captured Big East Rookie of the Year honors and garnered Freshman All-American honors from Baseball America and Louisville Slugger. His 1.72 ERA was the second lowest in the Big East and ranked 25th nationally. Alfonso, the Bulls second baseman, was second on the team with a .331 batting average racked up 23 RBIs and 23 runs scored. The Bulls finished with a record of 36-22 and fell in the Big East Conference Tournament to Rutgers last season.

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