JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The right-handed pitching duo of Dominick Madonna and Max McKinley spun a combined shutout behind nine strikeouts and just two hits permitted in North Florida baseball's 7-0 victory against Kennesaw State Sunday, May 1.

The win clinched the three-game series in favor of UNF (18-26, 8-13 ASUN) as the Ospreys knocked off the ASUN East Division leading Owls (26-18, 14-7 ASUN). 

North Florida shut out KSU twice on the weekend, marking the first time North Florida has blanked a team twice in the same three-game series since UNF did so April 10 and 11 against USC Upstate in 2010. UNF outscored the league's best hitting team over the weekend, while the North Florida pitching staff combined to allow only two earned runs. 

The Owls came into the weekend having not been shut out once in a nine-inning game all year.

UNF went up 5-0 after three innings before an hour and 16-minute lightning delay slowed the game down. Up to that point, Madonna had gone four scoreless innings, as McKinley relieved his teammate with five more scoreless frames.

UNF 7, KSU 0

Pitchers of Record
Win: Max McKinley (3-4)
Loss: Brayden Eidson (3-2)

Line Scores
KSU | 0R, 2H, 3E, 6 LOB
UNF | 7R, 11H, E, 9 LOB

Behind the Line Score

• UNF took a 2-0 lead in the first. Isaiah Byars singled sharply to third base, Brock Edge put down a bunt single and Abraham Sequera moved Byars up with a flyout. Cade Westbrook plated Byars with an RBI groundout and Aidan Sweatt scored Edge on a double to left.
• A leadoff KSU error resulted in a UNF run in the second. Tyler Gerteisen took first on a fielding error, a wild pitch, groundout and a second wild pitch scored Gerteisen.
• North Florida made it 5-0 in the third, scoring for the third-straight frame. Cade Westbrook reached first on a fielding error and advanced all the way to third base thanks to a throwing error on the same play. Sweatt plated Westbrook with a single and took second on the throw. Caleb Stafford ripped a single, scoring Sweatt.
• A one hour and 16-minute lightning delay interrupted play in the fourth inning as Max McKinley took over on the hill in the fifth.
• The Owls put pressure on UNF in the seventh, loading the bags with one out. Westbrook made a nice play on a shallow fly ball and McKinley got a swinging strikeout.
• UNF extended the lead to 6-0 in the seventh. Edge was hit by a pitch and some small ball moved him to third base. Sweatt legged out an infield single, scoring Edge.
• Byars capped off the scoring with an RBI single back up the middle in the eighth.

Statistical Leaders
KSU

• Cash Young & Zac Corbin | one single
• Luke Torbert | 4.0 IP, 2H, ER, 0BB, 3K

UNF

• Isaiah Byars | 3-for-5, 2B, R, RBI
• Aidan Sweatt | 3-for-4, 3RBI, R, 2B
• Brock Edge | 1-for-3, 2R
• Tyler Gerteisen | 1-for-4, 2R, 5 putouts
• Dominick Madonna | ND, 4.0 IP, 0ER, H, 2BB, 3K
• Max McKinley | W, 5.0 IP, H, 0ER, 0BB, 6K

Notes

• The last time UNF shut out a team twice in the same three-game series was April 10 and 11 against USC Upstate. 
• UNF is 30-21 all-time against Kennesaw State at home. 
• This was the 99th game between the two teams.
• The Owls had not been shut out in a nine-inning game all season prior to this weekend. 
• KSU entered the weekend with the No. 24 RPI in NCAA Division I baseball. 
• It was Sweatt's 10th multi-RBI game of the year. 
• UNF has pounded out double-digit hits in 20 of the 44 games played this season. 
• The lightning delay lasted an hour and 16 minutes. 
• North Florida and Kennesaw State played May 12, 2019 at Harmon Stadium and also experienced a lightning delay. That one lasted over two hours.

Up Next
UNF is set for its final non-conference game of the regular season Tuesday against UCF at 6:05 p.m. from Harmon Stadium.