JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - UNF baseball begins the second half of the league ledger in Lynchburg Friday, April 21 through Sunday, April 23 as the Ospreys take on Liberty in an important three-game set. 

UNF and Liberty are separated by just one game in the ASUN standings as both teams continue to vie for postseason positioning.

GAME DETAILS
Date: Friday, April 21 through Sunday, April 23
Time: 6 p.m. | 4 p.m. | 1 p.m.
Location: Lynchburg, Va.
Opponent: Liberty
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: unfospreys.com

All-Time Series vs. Liberty

• North Florida and Liberty squared off six times last season, with each team getting a chance to host a three-game set
• UNF won the first meeting, but Liberty replied to take the next five
• The Flames lead the all-time series, 14-4
• This is the last meeting between the two teams in regular season play as league foes

Last Time Out
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The first-ever meeting between North Florida (21-16) and Florida State (14-22) at Harmon Stadium did not disappoint and was nothing short of a roller coaster ride as the Ospreys walked off on the Seminoles in 10 innings, 15-14, Wednesday, April 19.

Last Time vs. Liberty
LYNCHBURG, Va. - After 26 hits, UNF's five-run sixth inning, a pair of lead changes and game-tying plays, Liberty held off North Florida baseball, 10-9, in the series finale Sunday, April 24.

Projected Starting Pitchers
Friday
LIB | LHP Garrett Horn
UNF | LHP Peter Holden

Saturday
LIB | LHP Garrett Gainey
UNF | RHP Dominick Madonna

Sunday
LIB | RHP Mikey Tepper
UNF | RHP Clayton Boroski
 

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Wild One

• North Florida won one of the wildest games in program history as the Ospreys defeated Florida State, 15-14, in ten innings Wednesday
• The game saw four lead changes and three ties before finishing just short of four hours
• It was the first-ever game between the two teams at Harmon Stadium
• UNF won after scoring three in the bottom of the tenth, being capped off by a wild pitch that allowed Cherokee Nichols to score after he laced a game-tying two RBI double earlier in the inning

Got Their Number

• UNF also picked up a quality in-state win against USF Tuesday, with North Florida downing the Bulls, 10-0, in a run-rule victory against South Florida
• The win gave UNF the season sweep of USF as well as its seventh-straight victory in the head-to-head series
• UNF won with consecutive sweeps for the first time since 2015

Brooks Wallace Watch List

• Alex Lodise was tabbed to the Brooks Wallace Watch List this week
• The freshman phenom was also named ASUN Player of the Week April 3, the first UNF freshman to earn that distinction since Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist Donnie Dewees in 2013
• Lodise joined former UNF assistant coach, Andrew Hannon, as Brooks Wallace Watch List selections

Start it Up

• North Florida got the most of its starting pitching during a doubleheader sweep of UCA last Saturday
• Dominick Madonna and Clayton Boroski combined to go for 14 innings, permitting just four earned runs
• Both twirled career-long outings, with Boroski starting off a combined shutout as Lance Bolton nailed down the seven-out save
• Love also went six frames, taking the no decision against Florida State Wednesday
• Righty Will Ohme tied a career-long outing by going 4.1 innings en route to the win against USF Tuesday.

Touch 'em All

• North Florida surpassed the 50 home run milestone last weekend
• It's the first time the Ospreys have reached that marker in a season since 2015
• UNF has 16 more home runs this season than all of last year
• North Florida is 17 homers shy of setting the UNF DI-era single season record

 

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Scouting Liberty

• Liberty is 17-19 and 8-7 in conference play
• The Flames are 8-6 at home
• Liberty took two of three from Kennesaw State last weekend in a rematch of the ASUN Championship
• Prior to that, Liberty snagged a midweek against Virginia Tech
• Liberty has won the last two league series, taking two of three from UCA
• The Flames also split the season series with Duke
• Friday night starter Garrett Horn was selected to the 2023 College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year Watch List. He was a freshman all-american last season
• Reliever Trey Carter has been crucial out of the pen, currently riding a 16.2 innings scoreless streak

 

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MORE UNF NOTES
Notables

• Alex Lodise scored five runs in a win against Fairfield this season, 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
• UNF won every non-conference regular season weekend series for the first time in the DI era.

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, Friday, April 7.
• 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 fourth in runs (38), ninth in doubles (10), tied for fourth in triples (2), third in RBI (39) 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
• UNF concluded its eight-game home stand with two midweeks against USF and FSU.

Green Light Means Go

• Austin Brinling and Aidan Sweatt are a combined 29-for-32 in stolen bases this season
• UNF is already only 13 stolen bases from setting the UNF DI-era single season team record set with 71 in 2013

Walk-Off Dubs Hit Different

• UNF has won via walk-off six times this season
• The latest was one of the wildest as North Florida walked off on Florida State, 15-14, via a wild pitch in the bottom of the tenth
• 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 six of nine weekend series of the season, taking two of three from Murray State, Villanova, Fairfield, Stetson and UCA while sweeping a four-game set with Fordham.