Box Score (PDF)
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – East Tennessee State University (16-17, 5-5 Atlantic Sun) won game one of this weekend's Atlantic Sun Conference series this evening on a walk-off single by Chris Cook in the bottom of the ninth.
 
The one-out, single down the left field line brought home pinch-runner Brandon Moss for the game-winning run. The clutch hit spoiled a North Florida late comeback effort and dropped the Ospreys to 15-19 on the season, 6-7 in Atlantic Sun play. Andrew LaSure started the ninth-inning rally hustling out a lead-off double.
 
The Bucs owned the lead for the majority of the ball game, until the Ospreys plated two runs on a Trent Higginbothem two-run, home run in the top of the eighth inning. The long ball came with two outs and scored Corbin Olmstead to tie the game at five. Higginbothem, lined a ball over the left field that left Thomas stadium in hurry for his fourth dinger of the year.
 
Higginbothem was 1-for-2 with three RBIs and two runs scored in the contest. He is batting a sizzling .440 against Atlantic Sun opponents and has driven in a team-high 23 runs. Junior Drew Weeks was 2-for-4 with a run scored, upping his league-leading average to .423 on the year
 
The Ospreys took some time figuring out the deliberate Austin Hutchison, recording their first hit in the top of the fourth inning. North Florida broke through in the frame on a pair of two-out RBI hits, taking a 2-1 lead. Freshman Patrick Ervin drove a pitch into right center field that enabled Higginbothem to score all the way from first. Sophomore Ty Kelly followed up with his sixth RBI of the season, ripping a single to left that scored Ervin.
 
The lead was short-lived as the Bucs plated two runs thanks to a pair of triples in the bottom of the fourth. ETSU came into the contest ranked 5^th in the country with 16 triples. Dylan Tritsch led the inning off with three-bagger to centerfield. He scored easily as the next batter, Dylan Roach drove another ball that one-hopped the wall, just out of the reach of the outstretched arms of Alex Bacon. The second triple of the frame allowed Roach to score a batter later by virtue of the sacrifice fly giving ETSU a 3-2 advantage.
 
Already with a 4-3 lead, the momentum seemed to shift in favor of the home team in the bottom of the seventh when Clinton Freeman crushed a breaking pitch over the right center field wall. The homer was his league-leading eighth of the season. He later came on to pitch a scoreless ninth and was credited with his first win of the season.
 
Senior David Trexler matched a season-best with six strikeouts taking the no-decision. He pitched into the eighth inning for the second time this season. The righty leads the Ospreys in innings pitched (52.1) and strikeouts with 35.
 
Hutchison also didn't factor in the decision but pitched a solid six innings before giving way to right-hander Will Chesney.
 
The Atlantic Sun series will continue tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in Thomas Stadium. Right-hander Evan Incinelli (3-3) will get the start on the mound for the Ospreys while Jimmy Nesselt (2-3) will take the ball for ETSU.