Tuesday, March 24
Jacksonville, Fla.
6:00 p.m.
University of North Florida
vs
Savannah St.
@OspreyBSB Back in Action With a Pair of Midweek Games
3/23/2015 4:54:00 PM | Baseball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Winners of 11 of their last 12 games, the Ospreys will play a pair of midweek games before beginning Atlantic Sun Conference play this weekend. North Florida (17-9) will host Savannah State (12-12) on Tuesday night and travel south to square off against Bethune-Cookman (6-20) on Wednesday night. Both contests are scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
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Probable Starting Pitchers
Tuesday vs. Savannah St.:
UNF - RHP Matt Vaka (0-0, 0.73 ERA, 12.1 IP, 6 BB, 6 SO)
vs.
SSU - RHP Zach McCormack (1-0, 4.43 ERA, 20.1 IP, 10 BB, 10 SO)
Wednesday vs. Bethune-Cookman:
UNF - RHP Conner Andrews (0-0, 4.32 ERA, 8.1 IP, 5 BB, 8 SO)
vs.
BCU - TBA
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End of Record-Breaking Win Streak - A defeat in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against Bradley, snapped an 11-game win streak for the Ospreys. The streak was the longest under Head Coach Smoke Laval and the longest in the school's Division I era. North Florida posted victories against Fairfield, Georgia Southern, Brown, Jacksonville and Bradley in the 11-game span. The program mark of 22 was set in the first year of baseball at UNF in 1987.
RBI Machines - Trent Higginbothem, Donnie Dewees and Ryan Roberson rank first, third and fifth respectively in RBIs among Atlantic Sun schools after the weekend. Higginbothem leads the league with 26 and has drove in a run in 10 of his last 13 games. Roberson drove in five runs in the Bradley series, going 5-for-11 in three games played.
Double Play - North Florida is second in the A-Sun to Stetson with 24 double plays turned in 2015. No double play this season was more mesmerizing than the one started by Kyle Brooks in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. WATCH IT HERE
Series History - The Ospreys are 5-2 against Savannah State with all five victories coming at Harmon Stadium. The two schools have split the two-game season series the past two years. Against Bethune-Cookman, North Florida has won three of the last four and own a 14-7 advantage in a series that began back in 1989. The Ospreys are 3-5 against the Wildcats away from Harmon Stadium.
About Savannah St. - The Tigers have been hot of late and just had a six-game win streak snapped on Sunday against North Carolina A&T. Savannah St. is currently tied with Bethune-Cookman for first place in the MEAC Southern Division with a record of 6-3. Four regulars in the SSU lineup, Zachary Brigham Charles Sikes, Medez Elder and David Richards are currently batting over.300. Sikes leads the way with 31 hits including 10 doubles. Tuesday starter, Zach McCormack pitched 7.2 innings of one-run baseball in last year's game against the Ospreys in Savannah. He did not factor in the decision as the Tigers pulled off a 2-1, 10-inning victory.
About Bethune-Cookman - The beginning of 2015 was not kind to the Wildcats as they lost their first 10 games including series sweeps at the hands of Georgia Southern and Mercer. Bethune-Cookman has fared better in conference play, winning each of the three series played and a posting a MEAC record of 6-3. The Ospreys' next opponent, FGCU, swept BCU this past weekend, outscoring the Wildcats, 20-9. Nathan Bond has been their most consistent performer at the plate, sporting a .310 batting average and 10 RBIs.
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| Game Information |
| Â Date | Â Time | Â Location | Â Coverage |
| Â Tue. Mar. 24 | Â 6:00 p.m. | Â Jacksonville, Fla. | Â Live Stats |
| Â Wed. Mar. 25 | Â 6:00 p.m. | Â Daytona Beach, Fla. | Â Live Stats |
Probable Starting Pitchers
Tuesday vs. Savannah St.:
UNF - RHP Matt Vaka (0-0, 0.73 ERA, 12.1 IP, 6 BB, 6 SO)
vs.
SSU - RHP Zach McCormack (1-0, 4.43 ERA, 20.1 IP, 10 BB, 10 SO)
Wednesday vs. Bethune-Cookman:
UNF - RHP Conner Andrews (0-0, 4.32 ERA, 8.1 IP, 5 BB, 8 SO)
vs.
BCU - TBA
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| Out of the Box |
End of Record-Breaking Win Streak - A defeat in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against Bradley, snapped an 11-game win streak for the Ospreys. The streak was the longest under Head Coach Smoke Laval and the longest in the school's Division I era. North Florida posted victories against Fairfield, Georgia Southern, Brown, Jacksonville and Bradley in the 11-game span. The program mark of 22 was set in the first year of baseball at UNF in 1987.
RBI Machines - Trent Higginbothem, Donnie Dewees and Ryan Roberson rank first, third and fifth respectively in RBIs among Atlantic Sun schools after the weekend. Higginbothem leads the league with 26 and has drove in a run in 10 of his last 13 games. Roberson drove in five runs in the Bradley series, going 5-for-11 in three games played.
Double Play - North Florida is second in the A-Sun to Stetson with 24 double plays turned in 2015. No double play this season was more mesmerizing than the one started by Kyle Brooks in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. WATCH IT HERE
Series History - The Ospreys are 5-2 against Savannah State with all five victories coming at Harmon Stadium. The two schools have split the two-game season series the past two years. Against Bethune-Cookman, North Florida has won three of the last four and own a 14-7 advantage in a series that began back in 1989. The Ospreys are 3-5 against the Wildcats away from Harmon Stadium.
About Savannah St. - The Tigers have been hot of late and just had a six-game win streak snapped on Sunday against North Carolina A&T. Savannah St. is currently tied with Bethune-Cookman for first place in the MEAC Southern Division with a record of 6-3. Four regulars in the SSU lineup, Zachary Brigham Charles Sikes, Medez Elder and David Richards are currently batting over.300. Sikes leads the way with 31 hits including 10 doubles. Tuesday starter, Zach McCormack pitched 7.2 innings of one-run baseball in last year's game against the Ospreys in Savannah. He did not factor in the decision as the Tigers pulled off a 2-1, 10-inning victory.
About Bethune-Cookman - The beginning of 2015 was not kind to the Wildcats as they lost their first 10 games including series sweeps at the hands of Georgia Southern and Mercer. Bethune-Cookman has fared better in conference play, winning each of the three series played and a posting a MEAC record of 6-3. The Ospreys' next opponent, FGCU, swept BCU this past weekend, outscoring the Wildcats, 20-9. Nathan Bond has been their most consistent performer at the plate, sporting a .310 batting average and 10 RBIs.
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| Schools at Glance |
 |  |  | |
| Â Location | Â Savannah, Ga. | Â Daytona Beach, Fla. | Â Jacksonville, Fla. |
| Â Founded | Â 1890 | Â 1904 | Â 1965 |
| Â Enrollment | Â 4,602 | Â 3,578 | Â 16,357 |
| Â Nickname | Â Tigers | Â Wildcats | Â Ospreys |
| Â Conference | Â MEAC | Â MEAC | Â Atlantic Sun |
| Â 2015 Record | 12-12 | Â 6-20 | 17-9 |
| By the Numbers |
| Savannah St. | BCU | North Florida | |
| Â Avg. | .270 | .249 | .293 |
| Â Runs | 114 | 126 | 197 |
| Â Hits | 210 | 223 | 274 |
| Â 2B | 38 | 40 | 51 |
| Â 3B | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| Â HR | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| Â RBI | 99 | 104 | 172 |
| Â BB | 93 | 86 | 85 |
| Â ERA | 3.70 | 5.88 | 3.97 |
| Â SO | 152 | 176 | 192 |
| Â BB | 88 | 133 | 87 |
| Â FLD % | .949 | .955 | .983 |
Players Mentioned
RHP
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OF
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3B
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1B
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