Game Notes (PDF)KENNESAW, Ga. – Atlantic Sun Conference play will commence on Friday night when North Florida (16-10) travels to Kennesaw State (9-17) for a three-game series. Friday's series opener will be carried live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. All three games can be heard on 1010XL app and locally on 1010XL.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday North Florida: RHP
Bryan Baker (1-2, 2.36 ERA, 34.1IP, 7 BB, 37 SO)
Kennesaw State: LHP Chris Erwin (1-1, 6.75 ERA, 32 IP, 17 BB, 27 SO)
SaturdayNorth Florida: LHP
Tyler DuPont (2-0, 3.20 ERA, 25.1 IP, 2 BB, 15 SO)
Kennesaw State: RHP Gabe Friese (2-1, 3.90 ERA, 30.0 IP, 8 BB, 27 SO)
SundayNorth Florida: LHP
Austin Drury (1-0, 4.94 ERA, 27.1 IP, 12 BB, 14 SO)
Kennesaw State: RHP A.J. Moore (1-2, 5.18 ERA, 33.0 IP, 13 BB, 35 SO)
- This will be the 80th meeting between Kennesaw St. and North Florida. The Owls hold a 41-38 advantage in a series that began in 1988.
- The 79 previous meetings are the most against any other opponent, second only to Jacksonville (58 games).
- Friday will mark only the fifth road game of the season for North Florida. They are 1-3 away from Harmon Stadium in 2016.
- The Osprey bullpen has accounted for 10 of the 16 Osprey wins and sports a 2.72 ERA.
- Despite ranking 7th in the A-Sun in stolen bases with nine, a total of eight different Ospreys have swiped a bag this year.
- Tuesday's win against Florida A&M was the second shutout of the season.
- North Florida scored five runs in both the first and second inning Tuesday, marking the 7th and 8th times this season it has scored 5+ runs in a single inning.
- 90 of the 187 runs scored (48%) have come in the first three innings this year.
- As a team, the Ospreys have struck out only 127 times, the lowest total in the A-Sun by 25 strikeouts.
- Kyle Brooks has reached base in 20-straight games and Corbin Olmstead is riding a 19-game hit streak.
- Alex Merritt hit is fourth home run on Tuesday, the first 3-run homer by an Osprey this season. All four of his long balls have come with runners on base.
- As a team the Ospreys lead the A-Sun in batting average (.312), runs (187), hits (287), home runs (26) RBI (173) and slugging %. (.454)
- The Ospreys hit six home runs in two games vs. Dartmouth last week, including a season-high four on Thursday
- Of the Ospreys' 26 home runs this year, 13 have led off an inning
- Senior Corbin Olmstead hit two home runs in a game for the third time in his career on Thursday vs. Dartmouth. In the process he became the school's D-1 era leader in career home runs with 31. He is five shy of tying the all-time record held by Brian Fleetwood (1997-2000).
- Since Dakota Higdon and Christian Diaz have been inserted into the first and second spots in the batting order respectively, the two have combined to go 12-for-22 with nine runs scored and nine RBIs.
- Chris Thibideau is 7-for-16 (.438) in his last five games with six runs scored. His 23 runs scored are the 4th most in the A-Sun.
- Of the 16 wins this season, North Florida has come-from-behind in eight of them, including five in the ninth inning or later.
- The Ospreys have turned 28 double plays this season, fifth most in the country
- North Florida has totaled 287 hits this season, the 14th most in the country.
- After starting the season 0-7 in one-run games, the Ospreys have won their last four one-run decisions.
- Keith Skinner is listed 23rd on the country's toughest to strikeout list. Teammate Kyle Brooks is No. 45.
- North Florida has held a lead in five of its ten losses including both games vs. No.1 Florida
Midweek Recap: The Owls will return home after midweek road games at Georgia and Tennessee Tech. On Tuesday, Kennesaw State took down Georgia, 4-2 behind a strong pitching effort by lefty Mason Ward (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER). The Owls followed that up with a 24-9 setback against Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles erupted for 18 runs in the fifth inning, 17 came with two outs. Offensively, the Owls piled up seven runs over their final three turns at the plate and had three players put forth multiple-hit efforts.
Players to Watch: Catcher Griffin Helms went 6-for-7 with a home run and two RBIs in the midweek. He leads the team with a .409 batting average and a .471 on-base percentage. Two-way player Chris Erwin, Friday night's starter is batting .325 at the plate and is 1-1 on the mound. He will be only the third left-handed starting pitcher the Ospreys will face this season.
