Weekend Preview: Baseball Closes Out April at Home

Friday, April 28

Jacksonville, Fla.

2:05 p.m.

University of North Florida

Queens (Charlotte)

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4/27/2023 10:12:00 PM | Baseball

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Ospreys Host Queens in Three-Game Set

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - UNF baseball closes out April with the first home ASUN series of the second half of league play as North Florida welcomes conference-newcomer Queens Friday, April 28 through Saturday, April 29.

The series was originally slated to be played Friday through Sunday, but potential inclement weather has condensed the series to two days. The two teams will meet for a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 2:05 p.m. before playing the finale Saturday at 11:05 a.m.

GAME DETAILS
Date: Friday, April 28 | Saturday, April 29
Time: 2:05 p.m. (DH) | 11:05 a.m.
Location: Harmon Stadium
Opponent: Queens
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: unfospreys.com

All-Time Series vs. Queens:

North Florida and Queens are meeting for the first time
It's Queens' first year at the DI level

Last Time Out
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - North Florida baseball created a number of scoring opportunities, out-hitting No. 4 Florida (32-10), but 11 runners left on base coupled with the Gators' timely hitting down the stretch cost the Ospreys (22-19) in a 6-2 midweek loss in Gainesville April 25.

Projected Starting Pitchers
Friday - Game 1
UNF | LHP Peter Holden
Queens | RHP Kei Yamagishi

Friday - Game 2
UNF | RHP Clayton Boroski
Queens | TBD

Saturday
UNF | RHP Dominick Madonna
Queens | TBD

Halstead Hauls in More Honors

After being tabbed to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List at the start of the season, Halstead earned a spot on the midseason squad thanks to his effort of six saves and a 2.50 ERA thus far.
The righty is one of 18 hurlers from the preseason list to make the midseason squad, with the finalists being announced in early June.

April

UNF is 8-7 in the month of April, with this weekend marking the final games during the second-to-last month of the regular season.
North Florida is hitting just one point lower than its opponents during the month, notching a .272 batting average while hitting 16 home runs and swiping 12 bags. Dominick Madonna is 3-0 with a 5.13 ERA during the month, tied with Tony Roca for the team lead in strikeouts with 17 during the month.
Austin Brinling is hitting a scorching .362 during the month, tied with Jakob Runnels and Cherokee Nichols with the second-most total bases in April at 28. Alex Lodise has driven in a team-best 19 runs during April, while lacing 21 hits.

Scouting Queens

Queens is 8-31 and 3-15 in league play
The Royals picked up their first win as a Division I program in a 13-12 victory against FDU back in February
QU picked up one win in three league series, doing so against UCA, Lipscomb and Kennesaw State. The Royals have been swept in three league series
Queens baseball was not a varsity sport until the 2019 season. Prior to that it competed as a club sport as the school was at the DII ranks
The Royals have had two winning years since the inaugural year in 2018
Riley Cheek and Connor Manco are the lone players hitting above .300, with Cheek carrying things at seven home runs and 26 RBI. The next most home runs on the squad are Nick Brassington's four
Queens is surrendering 8.51 runs per game as a staff while walking 237 in 332 innings

MORE UNF NOTES

Dominant Madonna

UNF baseball took a game in the road series at Liberty, the last series between the two teams as league foes
North Florida won game two, 8-3, behind a nine-inning complete game effort from righty Dominick Madonna
Madonna spun 128 pitches, 30 more than his previous career high, setting an innings pitched career high as well
It was the first complete game by a UNF righty since 2019. The last UNF righty to throw a nine-inning complete game was Nick Marchese in April of 2019.

Clutch Cherokee

Cherokee Nichols is coming off a clutch week that saw him hit .450 over five games, going 9-for-20 with five runs, one double, two home runs, 10 RBI, three walks and 16 total bases.
Nichols hit a solo home run to leadoff the seven-run eighth inning during the 10-inning win against Florida State
He followed with a game-tying two-RBI double in the bottom of the tenth, scoring the winning run just moments later
He also hit a grand slam in the first inning of Saturday's win against Liberty

Brooks Wallace Watch List

Alex Lodise was tabbed to the Brooks Wallace Watch List last 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

Got Their Number

UNF also picked up two in-state wins last week, including a win against USF, 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

Wild as They Go

North Florida won one of the wildest games in program history as the Ospreys defeated Florida State, 15-14, in ten innings last 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

Start it Up

North Florida got the most of its starting pitching during a doubleheader sweep of UCA two weekends ago
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, April 18

Touch 'em All

North Florida surpassed the 50 home run milestone
It's the first time the Ospreys have reached that marker in a season since 2015
UNF has 20 more home runs this season than all of last year
North Florida is 13 homers shy of setting the UNF DI-era single season record

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 third in runs (40), tied for sixth in doubles (10), tied for fourth in triples (2), second in RBI (45) and, tied for eighth in hits (51) tied for second in stolen bases (6).
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

Green Light Means Go

Austin Brinling and Aidan Sweatt are a combined 29-for-33 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 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.