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University of North Florida Athletics

Wes Weeks swinging at a pitch in a game last season.
4
Missouri 19MIZ 0-1
5
Winner North Florida UNF 1-0
Missouri 19MIZ
0-1
4
Final
5
North Florida UNF
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Missouri 19MIZ 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 4 9 1
North Florida UNF 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 X 5 11 1

W: Marchese, Nick (1-0) L: Ian Bedell (0-1) S: Norkus, Trace (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Ospreys Outlast Missouri in Seesaw Thriller, 5-4

Weeks and Murphy Go 4-for-4 in Season Opener


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Opening day lived up to the excitement at Harmon Stadium Friday night.

North Florida (1-0) put forth a relentless effort to upend Missouri (0-1), 5-4, as the Ospreys took down an SEC opponent for the first time since doing so against Florida in 2013.

Pitchers of Record:
Missouri | Ian Bedell (0-1)
UNF | Nick Marchese (1-0)
Line Scores:
Missouri | 4 R, 9 H, E, 10 LOB
UNF | 5 R, 11 H, E, 6 LOB

Behind the Line Score
  • North Florida wasted no time, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Chris Berry flared a single to left and moved up to third when junior Tanner Murphy hooked a double inside third base. Junior transfer David Maberry picked up an RBI in his first plate appearance as an Osprey, working an RBI groundout on an 0-2 count, plating Berry.
  • Missouri went down quietly in the second before UNF answered with another. Senior Alex Reynolds stayed in on a curveball from lefty Tyler Plante to double down the right field line. A strikeout and a walk later, redshirt-senior Wes Weeks ripped an RBI single to left, scoring his classmate.
  • Missouri's Alex Peterson helped cut the Tigers' deficit to 2-1 in the top of the third. The left fielder singled back up the box, swiped second and moved another 90 feet on a Brad Deppermann balk. Catcher Chad McDaniel hit a dribbler between the mound and first base, plating Peterson as Deppermann took it to first unassisted.
  • Both pitchers settled into a groove before Missouri knotted things at two in the fifth. Right fielder Alex Brumfield opened the frame with a single and advanced to third after a wild pitch and a steal. Weeks ran down a skied fly ball just off the right field line, scoring Brumfield from third.
  • The duo of Murphy and Weeks was back at it in the bottom of the fifth. Weeks roped a single up the middle and moved to second on a passed ball. The right fielder tagged up on a Berry fly out to center and Murphy brought him home with a single up the middle.
  • Missouri responded again, using an infield single and an RBI double from Chris Cornelius to tie it at three in the sixth.
  • Cleanup hitter Austin James hit a towering fly ball to left that Weeks chased down in front of the wall to close out the seventh.
  • Weeks made it a 4-for-4 night with a homer to left in the bottom of the seventh, giving UNF the 4-3 lead.
  • Cornelius came through for Mizzou once more, responding with a towering solo shot to left of his own in the top of the eighth, evening it up at four.
  • A crucial 3-2 pitch to Jay Prather to start the bottom of the eighth would end up in right-center field, putting him on second with nobody out. A passed ball bumped him to third and Reynolds scored him with a medium-deep sac fly down the right field line.
  • Senior Trace Norkus entered for reliever Nick Marchese at the start of the ninth. Norkus permitted a single and a walk but dug deep to work a popout and a tapper back to him to close out the game.

Coach's Comments
"Everytime we scored they scored, and it was a great job of our guys to keep scoring after they did. They had a chance to break it open and we had a chance to score a few extra runs, but the pitching was good for both sides, neither team walked many guys and the ball was thrown over the plate. We plan on trying to play seventy-something games and that's what we told the guys afterwards. It's a nice win but at midnight tonight we have to get to the game tomorrow." -- Head coach Tim Parenton

Notes
  • UNF is 5-5 in its last 10 season openers.
  • The last time a UNF team beat a Power 5 opponent was when it secured an extra-inning win (7-6 in 10 inn.) against in-state foe Florida on Feb. 26, 2013 in Gainesville .
  • This is the first-ever meeting between UNF and Missouri.
  • This is the first of four games against an SEC opponent for UNF to open the season.
  • Weeks is 6-for-8 with six RBI in his last two season openers.
  • Murphy and Weeks combined for eight hits, the most by any two Ospreys in a season opener in the program's Division-I history.
  • The last time an Osprey had four hits in the season opener was Andrew Karmeris Feb. 18, 2011.

Statistics Leaders:
UNF
  • Weeks | 4-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI
  • Murphy | 4-for-4, RBI
  • Reynolds | 1-for-3, R, RBI
  • Marchese | 3.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 K

Missouri
  • A. Peterson | 2-for-4, R, RBI, 2SB
  • Cornelius | 2-for-3, 2 RBI, R, BB
  • LaPlante | 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 K

Up Next
North Florida and Missouri meet in game two of their three-game set from Harmon Stadium tomorrow at 2:05 p.m.
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