Baseball Comes Up Short in Chilly Series Finale at Austin Peay, 4-2

Sunday, March 19

Clarksville, Tenn.

1 p.m. (EST)

University of North Florida

Austin Peay

Stephen Halstead throwing a pitch in a game against Fairfield

Halstead turned in 3.2 scoreless frames, bringing his ERA to 0.66 on the year.

Photo by: Todd Drexler

Baseball Comes Up Short in Chilly Series Finale at Austin Peay, 4-2

3/19/2023 8:02:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

31 Degrees at First Pitch, UNF Gets Go-Ahead Run to the Plate in Ninth Once Again

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - UNF scored two in the second inning and Austin Peay (8-12, 2-1 ASUN) followed with four in the fourth as North Florida (11-10, 1-2 ASUN) got the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth for the second-straight game before falling, 4-2, in the series finale Sunday, March 19.

First pitch saw the temperature at a chilly 31 degrees as both teams did most of their scoring station-to-station and with aggressive base running. UNF swiped five bags and Peyton Sybrandt had the lone extra-base hit of the game, but Austin Peay singled five times in the fourth to get the runs it needed.

UNF walked nine times, bringing its total to 24 free passes in the series, but 12 stranded runners, including nine over the last four innings, proved to be the difference.

APSU 4, UNF 2

Pitchers of Record
Win: Jacob Kush (2-1)
Loss: Clayton Boroski (1-4)
Save: Tyler Hampu (1)

Line Scores
UNF | 2R, 5H, 0E, 12 LOB
APSU | 4R, 9H, 2E, 5 LOB

Behind the Line Score

Cade Reich walked to open the second, bringing his reached-base streak to 20 games. The speedy outfielder swiped second and scored on the play after an error on the throw down allowed him to come across home. It was UNF's second such run on the series after Austin Brinling did the same earlier on the weekend.
Next to walk was Alex Lodise, who followed up with his own steal and eventually scored after Matthew Clements flew out and Drew Leinenbach singled him home. Four of UNF's five steals came in the second inning.
Both teams went quietly over the next few frames before Austin Peay got going with one out in the fourth. Five-straight singles gave APSU the 3-2 lead. The Governors added another after a walk and RBI hit by pitch.
North Florida had scoring opportunities in innings six through nine, getting at least a runner in scoring position in each of those frames.
UNF nearly got one back in the eighth when a grounder to third base prompted a throw home on an advancing Reich. Reich was ruled out on the bang-bang play before Leinenbach hit a rocket off the mound and into the glove of the APSU second baseman for the force out.
UNF didn't go down easily in the ninth. With two outs, Sybrandt walked and Gabriel Esquivel singled, but APSU got a game-ending strikeout.

Statistical Leaders
UNF

Cade Reich | 1-for-4, R, BB
Drew Leinenbach | 2-for-4, RBI
Stephen Halstead | 3.2 IP, H, 0E, 2BB, 2K

APSU

Matt Aribal | 2-for-4, R, RBI
Trevor Conley | 2-for-4, R, RBI
Jacob Kush | 5.2 IP, 2H, ER, 4BB, 2K

Notes

UNF walked at least seven times in all three games, combining for 24 walks over the series
North Florida dropped its first weekend series on the year. The Ospreys have won four of five weekend series
UNF's two runs was the second-fewest total for the Ospreys this season
Reich's reached-base streak is now up to a team-best 20 games
Stephen Halstead dropped his ERA to 0.66 after spinning 3.2-scoreless innings
Halstead turned in his longest outing since going 4.0 innings in a win against FGCU April 16 of last year
UNF swiped five bags for the fourth time this season
North Florida left 12 on base
Brown made his first start in left field. It was the third start of his UNF career
Only two runs separated the outcome in each of the last two games
The temperature was 31 degrees at first pitch
Sybrandt's double was the only extra-base hit of the game
Both teams did their scoring in one inning respectively. UNF scored two in the second and APSU scored four in the fourth
Four of UNF's five steals came in the second inning.