Series One Preview: Ospreys vs. Racers for Opening Weekend

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - UNF baseball begins the 2023 season with a three-game series against the Missouri Valley Conference's Murray State Friday, Feb. 17 through Sunday, Feb. 19.

All three games will be streamed for free on SWOOPLife Live, with live stats available on unfospreys.com.

GAME DETAILS
Dates: Friday, Feb. 17 | Saturday, Feb. 18 | Sunday, Feb. 19
Time: 6:05 p.m. | 2:05 p.m. | 1:05 p.m.
Location: Harmon Stadium
Opponent: Murray State
Watch: SWOOPLife Live
Live Stats: unfospreys.com

All-Time Series: First-ever meeting

An Osprey Win Would....

Make UNF 11-7 in season openers during its DI era
Secure North Florida's first win against Murray State in series history

NORTH FLORIDA NOTES

At a Glance
UNF's roster features 35 active players,with 18 newcomers. North Florida brings back four starters and 16 that have already earned letters. UNF's coaching staff looks a little different this year as well. Brady Bogart joins in his first season on the staff, serving as an assistant and as the primary pitching coach.

Kyle Brooks returns for his fifth season overall and 2nd in an assistant role.

Preseason Selection
Junior infielder Aidan Sweatt was named to the ASUN Baseball Preseason All-Conference squad. Sweatt is UNF's first preseason-conference pick since future MLB Draft picks Brad Deppermann and Tanner Murphy were selected in 2019.

Sweatt is the first UNF infielder to be tabbed to the preseason team since Alex Merritt was picked back in 2017. He is one of five infielders honored this season in the 14-team league.

The junior is coming off a 2022 campaign that saw him earn Second Team All-ASUN honors. The middle infielder hit .329 with 70 hits, 32 runs, eight doubles, three home runs, 38 RBI and had eight stolen bags.

As a freshman, Sweatt started all but one game, earning unanimous all-freshman honors after hitting .282 with 28 runs and 14 doubles. He is just one game shy of 100 games played for his career and two games started away from 100.

Veteran Lefties
UNF returns two veteran lefties that are projected to earn significant innings as starters this season.

Southpaw Peter Holden found a groove after being inserted into the weekend rotation last April. Holden finished the season with Second Team All-ASUN honors, working his way into the Friday night slot with solid outing after solid outing. He finished the season 4-3 with a 3.41 ERA, one complete game and 68.1 innings worked. He would also be named to the ASUN All-Academic Team.

Local lefty Tony Roca returns with144 innings worked and 126 strikeouts in his fourth season in the Navy and Gray.

Home Grown
As has become the theme for UNF baseball, North Florida's active-35 man roster features 33 players from the Sunshine State. A number of them come from the 904 area or nearby counties. High schools such as Bishop Kenny, Clay, Bartram Trail, Creekside, Paxon, Fletcher, Ponte Vedra and more are featured on the UNF roster.

Sophomore 'Spreys
A number of freshmen during the 2022 season are now primed for their sophomore seasons after contributing significant time last year. Tyler Gerteisen and Drew Leinenbach saw ample time last year, while relievers Clayton Boroski and Scott Griesemer earned valuable experience during their freshman seasons.

Hold It Down Halstead
Righty reliever Stephen Halstead is back for his senior season. The Pensacola, Fla., native was named to the 2022 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List. He is one of the most effective bullpen arms in the league, turning in a 3.07 ERA, .245 opponents' batting average and 60 strikeouts across 40 appearances.

Schedule Notes

34 home games, 22 road games and 43 games in Florida
UNF plays ASUN newcomers: Austin Peay (March 17-19) and Queens (April 28-30)
Eight-game home stand to start the year, the longest since 1994 and tied for the longest in UNF history
19 games against in-state teams
26 non-conference games and 30 in ASUN play
River City Rumble is set for May 18-20 at JU
Four games against Power Five teams (Florida State, South Carolina, and Florida (two))
Fourth-straight year playing at South Carolina
UNF hosts FSU for the first time since 2010
First time playing USC Upstate since 2018, the last year the Spartans played in the ASUN
12 games against first-time foes, made up of four three-game series (Murray State, Villanova, UCA and Queens)
Five games marks the longest road stretch of the year (May 2-9)
Nine-game homestand is the longest of the year (April 6-19)
30 ASUN games
One doubleheader (March 4 vs. Fordham)

SCOUTING MURRAY STATE

Murray State is coming off back-to-back 30 win seasons for the first time in the program's 46 year history
Finished the 2022 season with an overall record of 30-25
Dan Skirka's team heads into the Missouri Valley Conference for the start of the 2023 season
The Racers were 8-14 on the road and finished the season 6-3 in their last three away meetings
MSU was ranked 7th going into the OVC Tournament. The Racers were knocked out in the first round by 6th Tennessee Tech
The 2023 MVC Baseball Preseason Poll has Murray State ranked 9th after finishing 6th in the final standings a year ago
The Racers were third in the league in homeruns (41) and stolen bases (40)
Returning to the club is two-way player Jacob Pennington who leads the club in batting average, home runs and innings pitched
Drew Vogel, Brennan McCoullough and Pennington are the faces of this young Racer lineup
Cade Vernan, Ryan Fender and Pennington look to hold down the bump this season after coming off a combined total record of 4-6 and 76.2 Innings pitched
The Racers are looking to make a name for themselves this year as they have lost key players from last year's team
Head Coach Dan Skirka enters his 5th season as head coach

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Clayton Boroski

Tyler Gerteisen

Scott Griesemer

Stephen Halstead

Peter Holden

Drew Leinenbach

Avery Love

Tony Roca

Aidan Sweatt

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