Game Notes (PDF)JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Ospreys will open up Atlantic Sun Conference play this weekend with a three-game series against defending regular season champion, Florida Gulf Coast University at Harmon Stadium. Friday night will be "Harmon Happy Hour" with drink specials for fans 21 and over. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Probable Starting PitchersFriday:
UNF- RHP
Tyler Moore (1-2, 2.89 ERA, 28 IP, 13 BB, 21 SO)
vs.
FGCU - RHP Michael Murray (2-3, 3.00 ERA, 42 IP, 5 BB 43 SO)
Saturday
UNF- LHP
Tyler DuPont (4-0, 3.79 ERA, 35.2 IP, 8 BB, 20 SO)
vs.
FGCU- RHP Brady Anderson (2-0, 3.86 ERA, 35 IP, 7 BB 30 SO)
Sunday
UNF- RHP
Matt Vaka (1-0, 1.04 ERA, 17.1 IP, 6 BB, 9 SO)
vs.
FGCU- LHP Josh Dye (0-1, 4.50 ERA, 16 IP, 3 BB 13 SO) Midweek Wrap Up: North Florida went 2-0 in the midweek with wins over Savannah State and Bethune-Cookman. The Ospreys scored 24 runs and racked up 27 hits in 17 innings of action. In Tuesday's rain-shortened game against Savannah State, they scored in every inning, including a five-run outburst in the third, to take a 13-1 decision in six innings. In Wednesday's road contest in Daytona, North Florida trailed for six innings before tying the game up in the ninth on a
Nick Karmeris RBI double. In the top of the 11th, the Ospreys scored six runs and handed the Wildcats an 11-5 loss.
Sigh of Relief: Right-hander
Corbin Olmstead has been simply stellar out of the bullpen for the Ospreys this season. He has yet to yield an earned run in seven appearances and 17 innings pitched. In Wednesday's win over Bethune-Cookman, the junior struck out the side in the eighth inning and again in the ninth, stranding the winning run on third base. He leads the Ospreys with 28 strikeouts this season. He has also recorded the team's last two saves and is tied for 2nd on the school's Division I career saves list with eight.
Back-to-Back: Olmstead teamed up with
Ryan Roberson to hit back-to-back home runs in Wednesday's win against Bethune-Cookman. The consecutive solo shots to lead off the fourth inning pulled the Ospreys within a run of tying the game. It was the first time the Ospreys went back-to-back since Roberson paired up with
Trent Higginbothem against USC Upstate on Mar. 16, 2014 to lead off the sixth inning.
Grand Slam: Donnie Dewees was a big part of the rout of Savannah State on Tuesday afternoon at Harmon Stadium. He launched a grand slam over the right field wall for his Atlantic Sun leading, seventh of the year. He finished the game 1-for-3 with five RBIs and two runs scored. The granny was the first since
Garrick Ferguson hit a walk-off grand slam in the 13th inning back on Mar. 11 2012.
Dewees No. 1 in Nation: Going into this weekend's action, outfielder
Donnie Dewees leads the country with 38 runs scored. He ranks in the top 10 in seven offensive categories. He sits in second in triples (5), second in runs per game (1.41) third in total bases (78), fourth in total hits (43), seventh in RBIs (33) and ninth in home runs (7).
National Team Rankings: The offense of North Florida ranks in the top 10 in three categories, runs per game, runs and hits. The Ospreys have scored the second most runs of any team in the country with 221. They rank third in hits (301) and sixth in runs per game (7.9).
Winning Ways: The Ospreys are winners of 13 of their last 14 games, the best stretch since their 40-win campaign in 2013. Already this season, the Ospreys won a school D-1 best, 11 straight games from Mar. 7-21.
Close Calls: North Florida has been involved in 10 one-run games and four extra inning games this season. A total of 13 games this season have been decided by one or two runs. In those games, the Ospreys are 4-9 and 1-3 in extra inning contests.
UNF Probables vs. FGCU: Red-shirt senior
Tyler Moore is the only Osprey scheduled starter to throw significant innings against FGCU. In his career, Moore has thrown 6.1 innings against the Eagles with the last pitch coming in a relief appearance in 2012. He has struck out nine batters and not allowed a run against FGCU.
Tyler DuPont pitched a scoreless inning of relief in last year's series finale.
All-Time Series: In the annual Atlantic Sun battle for the air, the Eagles have reigned supreme in a series that began in 2003. FGCU has won five of the last six games against North Florida and own a 17-7 advantage all-time. FGCU has also won seven of the nine games played at Harmon Stadium.
Scouting FGCU: The Eagles have gotten some pretty spectacular pitching efforts of late including Thursday night's win over No. 13 Miami. Junior Joran Desguin was the latest FGCU pitcher to submit a complete game victory. Reigning Atlantic Sun Co-Pitcher of the Week, Brady Anderson went the distance and struck out 10 in a 6-1 win over Bethune-Cookman on Saturday. The performance came off the heels of right-hander Michael Murray's complete game shutout the night before. Murray, the 2014 A-Sun Pitcher of the Year, threw 112 pitches and struck out four to guide the Eagles to a 5-0 win on Friday night against BCU. At the plate, junior Nick Rivera leads the Eagles with a .384 batting average. Two of his three home runs came Wednesday night against Miami.
| | |
| Location | Fort Myers, Fla. | Jacksonville, Fla. |
| Founded | 1993 | 1965 |
| Enrollment | 14,200 | 16,357 |
| Nickname | Eagles | Ospreys |
| Conference | Atlantic Sun | Atlantic Sun |
| 2015 Record | 12-13-1 | 19-9 |
| FGCU | North Florida |
| Avg. | .280 | .300 |
| Runs | 136 | 221 |
| Hits | 243 | 301 |
| 2B | 37 | 56 |
| 3B | 4 | 9 |
| HR | 5 | 18 |
| RBI | 125 | 196 |
| BB | 99 | 97 |
| ERA | 4.13 | 3.85 |
| SO | 215 | 209 |
| BB | 60 | 91 |
| FLD % | .962 | .982 |
