FLORENCE, Ala. - North Florida baseball (25-23, 11-13 ASUN) completed the road sweep of North Alabama (9-36, 3-21 ASUN), getting a season-best 5.2-scoreless frames from
Lance Bolton and a three-run home run from
Matthew Clements in the 5-2 win Sunday, May 7.
Bolton came on for his long-relief appearance in the fourth inning, promptly getting an inning-ending double play with the bags loaded as he started a stretch of retiring 16 of the 18 batters he faced.
Offensively, North Florida got all it would need on Clements' first-career home run, a three-run bomb to left in the fourth.
Cherokee Nichols and
Dallen Leach supplied UNF's two other runs with an RBI each.
The sweep is UNF's first ASUN sweep since April 23-25, 2021 against Jacksonville. It's also UNF's first road sweep since taking all three games at JU in March of that same season. UNF pulled off its third series win in league play and second sweep of the season after claiming all four games against Fordham in early March.
UNF 5, UNA 2
Pitchers of Record
Win:
Lance Bolton (4-1)
Loss: Kevin Henrich (0-2)
Line Scores
UNF | 5R, 8H, 0E, 13 LOB
UNA | 2R, 8H, 0E, 8 LOB
Behind the Line Score
- North Florida struck first, getting one in the first frame. Aidan Sweatt rolled a single through the left side before Jakob Runnels and Alex Lodise coaxed walks. Nichols was just a few feet from a grand slam, but UNA right fielder Jonathan Lane made a catch on the track as the Ospreys got a sac fly in the first to take a 1-0 lead.
- UNA tied it 1-1 in the bottom half. A hit by pitch, sharp single off Clayton Boroski's glove and a two-out base hit to center tied it.
- Sweatt made a pair of big plays in the second to prevent a leadoff single from coming around to score.
- Cade Reich reached, Dallen Leach walked and Clements turned on a fastball for his first-career home run, a three-run shot to left to put UNF up, 4-1, in the fourth.
- UNA doubled in one and loaded the bags with one away, pushing the Ospreys to the pen leading 4-2 in the fourth. Lance Bolton needed just two pitches to get out of the jam, rolling a 5-4-3 double play.
- The Ospreys added an insurance run in the seventh. Lodise singled to open the frame, Nichols was plunked and Leach chopped a two-out RBI single through the left side.
- Austin Brinling robbed UNA of extra bases and a run, making a running catch and crashing into the wall in center to strand one in the eighth.
- Bolton continued to deal, spinning a perfect ninth to earn the long-relief win.
Statistical Leaders
UNF
- Aidan Sweatt | 2-for-4, R
- Cade Reich | 2-for-5, R
- Matthew Clements | 1-for-5, HR, 3RBI, R
- Lance Bolton | W, 5.2 IP, 2H, 0ER, 0BB, 4K
UNA
- Kyle Machado | 2-for-4, 2B
- Gehrig Frei | 2-for-4, 2B
- Drew Hudson | 1-for-2, R
Notes
- Aidan Sweatt extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the second
- UNF is 4-1 all-time against North Alabama
- The Ospreys played their final league games outside of the Sunshine State
- It's also UNF's final weekend game outside of Florida
- It was Clements' first-career home run
- Bolton's 5.2-inning outing was 3.1 innings longer than his next longest appearance
- Bolton didn't walk anyone for the 13th time this year. He has now worked a team-best 23 appearances
- Brinling has reached safely in 20-straight games. He joins Reich as the only two Ospreys this season to tally at least 20-straight games having reached base
- It was UNF's first ASUN sweep and ASUN-road sweep since 2021
- UNF is 6-6 in games outside of the Sunshine State. Brinling is hitting .410 in those games and Reich is batting .405. Nichols has belted four homers in nine games played outside of the Florida border.
- North Florida hit .357 with two outs during the series, while also tallying 11 two-out RBI
Up Next
UNF plays its non-conference finale at South Carolina Tuesday, May 9 at 4 p.m.
