JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The North Florida baseball team concludes the 2018 regular season slate with a trip to Newark to battle NJIT beginning on Thursday afternoon with a 1:30 p.m. double header. All games will be played at Kean University this weekend.
 
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: North Florida at NJIT
WHERE: Newark, N.J. (Kean University)
WHEN: Thursday, May 17 (1:30 p.m.) | Thursday, May 17 (5 p.m.) | Friday, May 18 (2 p.m.)
THE SERIES: UNF leads 6-0
SERIES HISTORY: The Ospreys lead the all-time series against NJIT, 6-0. UNF has won all six meetings from the Highlanders including a pair of 15 run victories. 

FOLLOW THE ACTION
LIVE STATS: Sidearmstats.com (Thurs-Sat)
TWITTER: @OspreyBSB (Thurs-Sat)
 
ON THE MOUND
Thursday
UNF – RHP Frank German (7-2, 1.36, 92 K)
NJIT – RHP Jared Kacso (2-6, 4.83, 21 K)

Thursday
UNF – LHP Austin Drury (4-2, 4.40, 52 K)
NJIT -- RHP Sean Lubreski (3-5, 3.80, 28 K)
 
Friday
UNF – TBA
NJIT -- RHP Tyler Stafflinger (4-4, 2.36, 31 K)
 
QUICK HITS

• Frank German, last time out set the UNF D1 record for wins with his 17th career win against Lipscomb. He sits with a 7-2 record and a 1.36 ERA with 92 strikeouts. The 92 strikeouts are also a single season record in the D1 era for German. 
• Chris Berry leads the Ospreys with a .341 average over the last ten contests with a pair of doubles and six RBI. Jay Prather is .325 in the same stretch with eight RBI. 
• Tanner Murphy enters play on Thursday with the league lead in runs scored (44), home runs (10), total bases (110) and slugging percentage (.576). 
• UNF is second in ASUN games in hits (170) led by Prather and Blake Voyles with 24 hits apiece. 
• Prather carries a 34 game on base streak into this weekend's action which is only six games short of the D1 era record set by Drew Weeks during the 2013-14 season. Weeks had a 40 game streak that stretched over the two seasons. 
• Murphy and Berry carry 26 game reached base streaks into New Jersey.

 
SCOUTING NJIT
Roster | Schedule | Statistics 

• Julio Marcano leads the Highlanders offense with a .340 average, while adding 12 doubles and a homer. Marcano has driven in 17 runs and is a perfect 6-for-6 on the bases. 
• Batting .304, Jesse Uttendorfer is second on the team with a team-best 49 hits and 15 doubles and has driven in a team-high 24 runs. He also paces the team with 12 stolen bases. 
• On the rubber, Tyler Stafflinger leads the staff with a 4-4 record and a 2.36 ERA, while Sean Lubreski is 3-5 with a 3.80 ERA.
• Johnny Malatesta leads the NJIT bullpen with a 1-0 record with a 2.37 ERA, while adding a team-high five saves. 
• The Highlanders enter play on Thursday with a 7-11 record in league play following a series win over Kennesaw State last weekend. NJIT sits in a three-way tie for fifth entering the final weekend of the regular season. 

UP NEXT
The Ospreys return home to Harmon Stadium for the 2018 ASUN Baseball Championship beginning on Wednesday May 23rd against a to be determined opponent.