Higginbothem, @OspreyBSB Walk-Off With 14th-Straight Win

Friday, May 15

Jacksonville, Fla.

3:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

42-13, 16-4

Kennesaw St.

27-26, 9-10

Kennesaw St.

North Florida

5/15/2015 7:28:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Box Score (PDF)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Trailing by a run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Trent Higginbothem delivered the game-winning hit in a 5-4, series-clinching win over Kennesaw State (27-26, 9-10 A-Sun). North Florida has now won a school-record 14 consecutive games and improves to 42-13 (16-4 A-Sun) on the season.

Garrick Ferguson began the heart-pounding, ninth-inning rally by drawing a one-out walk. Lead-off man Kyle Brooks followed with his first hit of the afternoon to put the winning run on base. Ferguson was able to advance to third on deep fly out to center by Donnie Dewees and Brooks went on to steal second without drawing a throw.

That set the stage for Higginbothem who finished the day, 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a runs scored. He was able to muscle a 2-1 pitch that dropped in front of the centerfielder to easily allow both Ferguson and Brooks to score. Higginbothem is third in the Atlantic Sun with 61 RBIs this season and coming into the game had just one hit in his previous 13 at bats.

It was the second deficit of the game for the Ospreys after the Owls jumped out to a 3-1 lead after four innings of play. The two-run hole was filled with just one swing of the bat by Ryan Roberson in the bottom of the sixth inning. He blasted a 2-0 pitch over the scoreboard in left field to tie the game up at three. It was his third home run in his last four games and he now has seven on the season.

Outfielder Donnie Dewees continued his torrent hitting streak with an infield single in the first inning, his 100^th base knock of the season. He currently owns the nation's longest hitting streak this season at 31 games, tying the school record set last year by seventh round MLB draft pick, Drew Weeks.

Dewees also provided some fireworks in the contest, blasting his 17^th home run of the season in the third inning. The towering drive to right centerfield tied the school's D-1 era (2006-present) record for homers in a season. He finished the day 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. He is now batting .443 this spring with a .781 slugging percentage.

Reliever Matthew Naylor, who pitched the game's final 2.1 innings, was credited with his eighth win of the season which ties him for the league lead. After an uncharacteristic two Osprey errors in the top of the seventh inning, the Owls had the bases loaded with no outs in a tie ball game. Senior Jamie Cardwell pitched to only one batter but induced a double play ball that allowed the go-ahead runner to score. Naylor then struck out the final batter of the frame to bail the Ospreys out of a potential game-changing inning.

Today's game was the 18^th one-run game for the Ospreys, in which they boast a 10-8 record this season. The Ospreys who lead the Atlantic Sun in home runs, move to 13-1 when hitting two or more home runs in a game.

Tomorrow's series finale is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Harmon Stadium. Freshman Matt Vaka (3-0) will get the start for the Ospreys and he will be opposed by right-hander Gabe Friese (4-5). Prior to the game the program will honor its 10 seniors with an on-field ceremony at approximately 12:30 p.m.