Baseball 5/24/2016 9:22:00 PM Scott Fitzgerald | Athletic Communications

A-Sun Tourney Commences Wednesday for @OspreyBSB

Game Notes (PDF)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Making its fourth-straight appearance in the Atlantic Sun Conference postseason second-seeded North Florida (37-17) will open up with No. 5 FGCU (24-30) in the opening game Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. EST. The game will be carried live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN App. The game can also be heard on 1010XL.com

Game Information

Date	Time	Location	Coverage
Wed. May 25	4:00 p.m. EST	Nashville, Tenn..	Live Stats \| ESPN3 \| 1010AM**

**1010AM from 4-6 p.m./entire game can be heard on 1010XL.com

Probable Starting Pitchers

Wednesday
FGCU: RHP Brady Anderson (5-5, 3.08 ERA, 90.2 IP, 20 BB, 56 SO)
North Florida: RHP Bryan Baker (5-4, 2.20 ERA, 77.2 IP, 27 BB, 78 SO)

Game Day Sound

Hear from Chris Thibideau: Interview | Bryan Baker: Interview

vs. FGCU

For the first time in eight previous series', the Ospreys took a regular season set from the Eagles by winning the final two games in Fort Myers at the end of April.
The series victory jump started the Ospreys run that included five consecutive series wins over A-Sun opponents to close the season.
The Ospreys have won four of the last five meetings against the Eagles including an 8-2 postseason win to eliminate FGCU from the 2015 A-Sun Tournament.
In postseason play, the two teams have met three times with the Ospreys holding a 2-1 advantage. North Florida emerged victorious, 13-2 the last time the tournament was held in Nashville in 2010.

Short Hops

North Florida comes into the tournament winners of six-straight games and nine of their last 10.
The Ospreys had a school-record and an A-Sun high, five players listed on the Atlantic Sun All-Conference First Team.
Coming into the postseason, the Ospreys lead the A-Sun in batting average (.319), runs (392), hits (614), home runs (53), slugging percentage (.449), on-base percentage (.398) and double plays (56).
The Ospreys .312 batting average and 614 hits both rank 10th in the country.
The Ospreys reached the A-Sun final for the first time last season and are seeking their first ever A-Sun tournament title.
Under Head Coach Smoke Laval, the Ospreys are 4-6 in the A-Sun postseason.
Laval won his 200th game at North Florida on Thursday May 19 at NJIT. He has now won 200 games at three different schools, UNF (202), ULM, (241) and LSU (210)
Wednesday's game will be the first neutral site game of the season for North Florida
The Ospreys are coming off a three-game series vs. NJIT in which they totaled 36 runs and 54 hits. North Florida tied a D-1 era high with 22 runs and 26 hits in the series finale.
In 22 of the 54 games this season the Ospreys have scored in the first inning. When scoring in the first inning, North Florida boasts a record of 20-2.
When collecting 10 or more hits in a game, the Ospreys are 30-3.
The Ospreys are closing in on 400 runs for the season. Last season North Florida set a single-season mark with 473 and have eclipsed the 400 mark two of the last three seasons.
Defensive Player of the Year, Kyle Brooks has made 100 straight starts at shortstop

At the Plate

Led by First Team All-Conference selection, Keith Skinner (.395), seven of the nine batters in the North Florida lineup are batting over .300.
Skinner leads the Atlantic Sun in batting average (.395) and on-base percentage (.481). The Ospreys have had the past three A-Sun regular season batting champions (Drew Weeks-2014, Donnie Dewees-2015)
Nick Karmeris drove in 22 runs in A-Sun play this season, the third most of any player in the league.
Chris Berry drew 17 walks in 21 conference games to lead the A-Sun. He and Dakota Higdon each were issued four in a game against USC Upstate on May 15.
Corbin Olmstead, the school's D-1 era leader in home runs (34), surpassed Andrew Karmeris (2009-12) with his 251st hit last Friday. He is now third all-time in school history. Kyle Brooks is right behind him with 250 career base knocks.
Last time facing FGCU, Chris Thibideau went 7-for-12 with three home runs and five RBIs en route to A-Sun and National Player of the Week honors.
Four players, Kyle Brooks (18 games), Keith Skinner (14 games), Nick Karmeris (13 games) and Corbin Olmstead (10 games) bring in reached base streaks above 10 games. Olmstead already had a streak of 36 games this season.
Dakota Higdon had his best series as an Osprey at NJIT. The senior went 8-for-12 with six runs scored in three games. He set a new career-high with four hits and four runs in the first game of Friday's doubleheader.

On the Mound

Bryan Baker comes into the game with an A-Sun low, 2.20 ERA. He has allowed three runs or less in all 13 starts this season.
In 31 innings pitched, Corbin Olmstead has surrendered just one extra-base hit. He has been on the mound for 11 of the 37 Osprey wins this season.
Junior Matthew Naylor is tied for second in the league with 29 appearances. With his next appearance he will break the school's D-1 era single-season record held by Josh Papelbon (2006).
As a whole, the Osprey bullpen sports a 2.43 ERA and are responsible for 18 of the 37 North Florida wins. All but three pitchers have an ERA over three coming out of the pen.
In his last four relief appearances, right-hander Anthony Delaney has not yielded a run. He has sturck out four and allowed three hits in 4.2 releif innings.
One of the top starting pitchers in A-Sun play last season, Matt Vaka has made six appearances in relief this season. In those games, he has a 0.79 ERA with just one earned run in 11.1 innings of work.

In the Field

With 56 double plays this season the Ospreys lead the A-Sun and are ranked 10th nationally.
Catcher Keith Skinner has yet to make an error in 388 chances. He hasn't produced a miscue since his school-record nine-RBI outburst on April 19, 2015.
Skinner has cut down 15 runners attempting to steal this season, the second-most in the A-Sun.
From his right field position, Nick Karmeris has eight outfield assists. He had four in a six-game stretch in early April.
Shortstop Kyle Brooks leads the A-Sun with 175 assists.

About FGCU

FGCU Schedule | FGCU Statisics

FGCU: Despite struggling down the stretch by dropping five of their last seven games, the Eagle roster is loaded with talent. At the top of that list is A-Sun Player of the Year Jake Noll who finished the year with 12 home runs and and a league-high 61 RBIs. He batted .372 and started every game at second base. At the top of the rotation, is Brady Anderson who was worked 7.1 innings in the pitchers duel vs. the Ospreys on April 29th. The righty scattered eight hits and struck out five in FGCU's only win of the weekend. The Eagles hold a 20-11 record against North Florida and hold a slight, 12-8 advantage in the Smoke Laval era.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Donnie Dewees: OF; 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore; L-L

#24 Bryan Baker: RHP; 6' 6"; Junior; R-R

#2 Kyle Brooks: SS; 5' 8"; Senior; R-R

#32 Dakota Higdon: OF; 5' 11"; Senior; L/R

#15 Nick Karmeris: 1B / OF; 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior; L-L

#39 Matthew Naylor: RHP; 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior; R/R

#23 Corbin Olmstead: RHP / IF; 6' 3"; Senior; R-R

#35 Keith Skinner: C; 6' 1"; Senior; L/R

#18 Matt Vaka: RHP; 6' 1"; Sophomore; R/R

#5 Chris Thibideau: UTL; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

#41 Anthony Delaney: RHP; 5' 9"; Junior; R/R

#21 Chris Berry: UTL; 6' 0"; Freshman; L/R

Players Mentioned

#10 Donnie Dewees
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore; L-L
: OF

#24 Bryan Baker
: 6' 6"; Junior; R-R
: RHP

#2 Kyle Brooks
: 5' 8"; Senior; R-R
: SS

#32 Dakota Higdon
: 5' 11"; Senior; L/R
: OF

#15 Nick Karmeris
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior; L-L
: 1B / OF

#39 Matthew Naylor
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior; R/R
: RHP

#23 Corbin Olmstead
: 6' 3"; Senior; R-R
: RHP / IF

#35 Keith Skinner
: 6' 1"; Senior; L/R
: C

#18 Matt Vaka
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; R/R
: RHP

#5 Chris Thibideau
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: UTL

#41 Anthony Delaney
: 5' 9"; Junior; R/R
: RHP

#21 Chris Berry
: 6' 0"; Freshman; L/R
: UTL