Weekend Preview: Baseball Hosts Central Arkansas

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida baseball picks up with the second three-game series of the home stand when the Ospreys host UCA Friday, April 14 through Sunday, April 16.

The weekend's games mark the first meetings between the two teams and subsequently the first contests as league foes.

UNF is back in action for the first time since Saturday, April 8 as the midweek meeting against FAMU was postponed due to rain.

GAME DETAILS
Date: Friday, April 14 - Sunday, April 16
Time: 6:05 p.m. | 2:05 p.m. | 1:05 p.m.
Location: Harmon Stadium
Opponent: Central Arkansas
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: unfospreys.com

All-Time Series: 0-0

First-ever meeting
First games against one another as league foes

Projected Starting Pitchers
Friday
UCA | RHP Jesse Barker
UNF | LHP Peter Holden

Saturday
UCA | LHP Payton Windham
UNF | RHP Dominick Madonna

Sunday
UCA | TBD
UNF | RHP Clayton Boroski

Last Time Out
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida baseball had a chance at winning its sixth-straight home weekend series of the year, but the Jacksonville State bats got in the way as UNF (17-15, 5-7 ASUN) dropped the rubber game with the Gamecocks (16-15, 9-3 ASUN) Saturday, April 8.

Top Ten Worthy

Austin Brinling made a diving catch with two outs and two on in the top of the ninth, recording the final out as UNF defeated Jacksonville State, 5-3, last Saturday.
Brinling's play earned him a spot at number six in SportsCenter's Top 10 that evening

Freshman Records

Alex Lodise has already set the UNF single season freshman home run record, belting 10, one better than the previous record
The shortstop is well on his way to more freshman records. He's tied for fourth in runs (35), tied for tenth in doubles (9), tied for fourth in triples (2), third in RBI (34) and tied for second in stolen bases (6).

Settling In

North Florida had an eight-game home stand to start the season, one of its longest in program history to open a year
But, this week North Florida begins a season-long nine-game home stand that includes a series with Jacksonville State and Central Arkansas, as well as midweek games with FAMU, USF and Florida State

Green Light Means Go

Austin Brinling is first in the league with 15 stolen bags, converting every attempt
Aidan Sweatt isn't far behind, swiping 11 bases in 13 attempts
UNF is already only 18 stolen bases from setting the UNF DI-era single season team record set with 71 in 2013

Notables

UNF has 49 homers this year, already 10 more than all of last season
UNF ranks third in the league in home runs and RBI, as well as second in total bases, and runs
Alex Lodise scored five runs in a win against Fairfield two weekends ago, the most runs by a UNF freshman in a single game in at least the DI era
Lodise set the UNF single season freshman home run record
Lodise had five hits Saturday April 1, tying the UNF DI era program record
The Ospreys hit three grand slams two weekends ago at EKU, two coming from Jakob Runnels and the other from Austin Brinling
UNF won every non-conference regular season weekend series for the first time in the DI era.

Scouting UCA

Central Arkansas is 15-17 and 6-6 in league play
The Bears are 12-7 at home but just 3-10 in road contests
UCA is coming off a big-time win against Arkansas Pine Bluff as the Bears downed UAPB, 15-3
Designated hitter Mason King drove in five runs during the win
Six Bears notched multi-hit games in the win
UCA has already made a trip to Jacksonville once this season, being swept by JU in late March over at John Sessions Stadium
Central Arkansas took one game at Liberty last weekend
Four players are hitting over .300, paced by Reid Bowman at .354
UCA likes to run, having swiped 58 bags
UCA has spun a 5.28 ERA as a team, fanning 277 while walking 162

MORE UNF NOTES

Walk-Off Dubs Hit Different

UNF has won via walk-off five times this year, with three coming last week
March 25 Alex Lodise hit the first grand slam of his career with a towering big fly on a hanging breaking ball, sending UNF to a 16-6 mercy rule win
One day later, Aidan Sweatt and Austin Brinling combined for three ninth inning RBI to give North Florida an 8-7 walk-off to clinch the series
Former UCF Knight, Jakob Runnels, mashed a walk-off three-run home run with two outs in the ninth, giving North Florida a 4-2 win against UCF March 21
In the first game of the year, Runnels hit a walk-off pinch hit RBI single in a 3-2 10-inning win against Murray State
Drew Leinenbach put down a walk-off squeeze bunt in a 6-5 10-inning win against Fordham March 4

Weekend Winning
UNF has won five of eight weekend series of the season, taking two of three from Murray State, Villanova, Fairfield and Stetson while sweeping a four-game set with Fordham.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Clayton Boroski

Austin Brinling

Peter Holden

Drew Leinenbach

Alex Lodise

Dominick Madonna

Jakob Runnels

Aidan Sweatt

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