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JACKSONVILLE, Fla – Prone late rallies this season, North Florida scored 11 runs in its final two turns at the plate to pull off a 12-5 victory over Northern Kentucky this afternoon. The win completes a three-game series sweep and improves the Ospreys to 23-11 on the season and 4-2 in Atlantic Sun Conference play.
 
A six-inning, 1-1 pitcher's duel quickly escalated to a blowout victory in large part to a season-high, eight-run seventh inning for the Ospreys. Donnie Dewees broke the 1-1 tie with a bases loaded single that plated two runs. The high chopper through the right side extended his hitting streak to 10 games, his second double-digit hit streak of the season.
 
Northern Kentucky starting pitcher Matt Jefferson kept the Osprey offense off the scoreboard for the majority of the day. Prior to the seventh he stranded five North Florida runners in scoring position including two apiece in the fifth and sixth. He threw 110 pitches and struck out one in his fifth loss of the season.
 
Jefferson began the seventh inning troubles when he walked the first batter, hit the next and allowed a single to Kyle Brooks to load the bases. Dewees' two-RBI single followed by the second RBI of the game from Trent Higginbothem made the score, 4-1 and spelled the end of Jefferson's afternoon.
 
The Norse bullpen did not do much to stop the bleeding as it walked five more batters in the frame and eventually opened up a 9-1 advantage for North Florida. A sacrifice fly by James Abbatinozzi and pinch-hit single by Nick Karmeris scored two runs while three additional runs were walked in by the Norse bullpen. In all the Ospreys sent 14 batters to the plate, collected four hits and took advantage of six Northern Kentucky walks.
 
On the other side of the pitching duel was North Florida freshman Matt Vaka and sophomore Bryan Baker. In his seventh start of the year Vaka pitched into the sixth inning for the first time in 2015 and allowed only one run on four hits. He also picked off two runners, one to end the second inning and another to end the third. He is the second Osprey pitcher this season to record two pickoffs in one game (Tyler Moore vs. Bradley on Mar. 7).
 
Baker came on in relief with no outs in the sixth and stranded two runners to keep the game tied at one. The Norse were knocking on the door again in the top half of the seventh when they loaded the bases with one out. Baker struck out Anthony Vagnier for the second out and induced a fly out to center by Northern Kentucky's top hitter, Cole Bauml.
 
Baker claimed his second win of the season and pitched three innings of relief. He allowed his only run of the game in the eighth after waiting out the marathon inning by the Ospreys. He struck out two and improved to 2-2 on the season.
 
The three runs in the bottom of the eighth were courtesy of back-to-back home runs by Corbin Olmstead and James Abbatinozzi. It marked the fourth time this season the Ospreys have hit back-to-back home runs. Olmstead hit a two-run shot that hit the scoreboard in left field while Abbatinozzi lifted his first long ball of the spring immediately after.
 
The Ospreys lead the Atlantic Sun with 28 home runs on the season and hit five against NKU this season. Olmstead finished the day 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs while Abbatinozzi was 1-for-4 and drove in two runs.
 
North Florida will conclude its seven-game home stretch on Tuesday when they host Bethune-Cookman at Harmon Stadium. The Ospreys will play another midweek contest Wednesday in Tallahassee against Florida A&M before traveling to Nashville for a three-game set against Lipscomb beginning Friday.