Box Score (PDF)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – North Florida (13-9) erased a three-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth inning to power them to a 6-5, series-clinching victory over Quinnipiac (6-10). The Ospreys have now won six of their last seven games and their third-straight weekend series.
Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth, the Ospreys sent 10 batters to the plate, recorded four hits and capitalized on a Bobcat fielding error to secure their seventh come-from-behind victory of the season. Junior
Patrick Ervin delivered the game-winning hit, a single to left field that scored
Nick Karmeris with two outs in the frame.
Karmeris and senior
Kyle Brooks each delivered RBI singles in the four-run rally. Karmeris was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs on the day. It was his second-straight two-hit performance and he is four for his last nine with a home run and three RBIs.
His single, followed by a Brooks hard-hit grounder up the middle, scored the first two runs of the rally. The Ospreys tied the game when
Alex Merritt hustled out a potential inning-ending double play ball that enabled
Corbin Olmstead to score the tying run from third.
Olmstead had another big offensive day, highlighted by his fifth home run of the year in the fourth inning. The senior designated hitter was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI. After the Ospreys captured the lead he came in to pitch the top of the ninth and recorded the save. Olmstead struck out two batters and worked around two base runners to record his fifth save of the year and 19
th of his career. He is now tied for second with Jerrod Payne (1999-00) on the program's all-time career saves list.
Matthew Naylor earned his second win of the week coming on in relief of
Austin Drury in the top of the seventh. Naylor struck out two and did not allow a hit in 1.1 innings pitched. Drury, the freshman, had his longest outing of the year, tossing 107 pitches in 6.2 innings. Only four of the five runs he allowed were earned and he struck out a pair of batters in the no-decision.
Quinnipiac built a 3-1 lead thanks to a Matthew Payero two-RBI double in the second inning and a Joseph Burns home run in the sixth. Burns had just two hits in the series, both home runs. After the Ospreys got within a run again in the bottom half of the sixth, two runs scored on a fielder's choice coupled with a North Florida throwing error.
The Bobcats drew six walks, five off Drury, which tied for the most by an Osprey opponent this season.
The Ospreys will have a day off Monday before three midweek games. On Tuesday, North Florida will go down to Daytona Beach to square off against Bethune-Cookman before hosting Dartmouth on Wednesday and Thursday at Harmon Stadium.
