Box Score (PDF)TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In-state foe Florida A&M (13-19) kept the North Florida (15-18) off the scoreboard in a 2-0 shutout this evening in the state capital. A trio of pitchers and clutch defensive plays helped preserve the first shutout of the season for the Rattlers.
FAMU starting pitcher Matthew Schaeffer threw into the fifth inning before giving way to reliever Brandon Fleming. Schaeffer allowed six of the nine Osprey hits and struck out three in the no decision. Fleming came on with runners on first and third and induced a pair of groundouts to get the Rattlers out of a jam. The righty pitched two more innings to line himself up for his first win of the season.
Florida A&M senior Bennie Robinson provided the offense for the Rattlers in the early going. In the bottom of the first, he hustled out a double to left center field. He moved up a base and later scored on two wild pitches in the inning. He came up in the bottom of the third and hit his fifth home run of the year to make the score, 2-0. He came into the game batting .391 on the year with a team-best 26 RBI.
The Ospreys looked like they were going to break through against Fleming in the seventh when the first three runners reached to load the bases with no outs.
Kyle Brooks stepped in and lined a pitch down the left field line that was snagged by the third baseman Ryan Kennedy, who promptly stepped on third for the double play. Fleming forced another groundout by the next batter to end North Florida's biggest threat of the contest.
Blake Quillen came on in the eighth and pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to earn his first save of the season.
Brooks and Ervin each were 2-for-4 in the contest to highlight the Osprey offense. Seven of the nine starters in the lineup recorded a hit for North Florida.
Junior
Dan VanSickle worked an inning and a third in relief of starter
Bryan Baker. VanSickle fanned three of the four batters he faced.
Nick Miller pitched the final two innings for the Ospreys, scattering two hits while facing only seven batters.
The Ospreys will look ahead to a weekend Atlantic Sun series against Eastern Tennessee State University beginning on Friday in Johnson City, Tenn. The Ospreys currently sit alone in fourth place in the league standings while the Bucs trail by just a game at 4-5. First pitch on Friday night is scheduled for 7:05.
