Baseball Falls to Notre Dame on Opening Day

Friday, February 14

Jacksonville, Fla.

6:30 p.m.

University of North Florida

0-1

Notre Dame

1-0

Notre Dame

North Florida

Opening Day at Harmon Stadium

2/14/2025 11:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Moore, Bellhorn Shine in 5-3 Loss to Fighting Irish

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Jackson Bellhorn tossed a scoreless outing and Connor Moore drove in two but the North Florida Ospreys fell on opening night to Notre Dame 5-3 in front of 717 fans from Harmon Stadium.

Notre Dame (1-0) struck first in the first inning. With one out, Bino Watters worked a walk. Estevan Moreno followed with a single to put two runners on. Two batters later, Jared Zimbardo laced an RBI single and put the Fighting Irish ahead 1-0.

The offense continued for the Fighting Irish in the fourth. Carson Tinney (1) crushed a lead off home run, extending the Notre Dame lead to two. Zimbardo walked and stole second which put another runner in scoring position. Jayce Lee drew a walk and both Fighting Irish runners advanced on a passed ball. With runners at second and third, Connor Hincks cracked a sacrifice fly to give Notre Dame a 3-0 advantage.

The Notre Dame bats did not slow down. In the top of the fifth, Watters and Moreno worked back-to-back walks. With two runners on, Tinney singled home Watters. Following a UNF pitching change and a strikeout, Lee smoked an RBI single to bring the Fighting Irish run total up to five.

North Florida found some offensive momentum in the sixth. Drew Leinenbach doubled to start the innings. Three batters later, Connor Moore ripped an RBI double to make it 5-1.

The UNF bats rallied in the eighth. Mitchell Collins walked to start the inning. With a runner on first, Moore doubled home Collins for his second RBI of the night. A wild pitch advanced him to third and following a strikeout, a second wild pitch brought him home and made it a 5-3 game.

Despite bringing the tying run to the plate in the ninth, the Fighting Irish escaped with a close win on opening night. Notre Dame starter Jack Radel tossed four scoreless innings and was perfect through three. Bellhorn had a strong UNF debut, tossing nearly four scoreless innings in relief.

Pitchers of Record
Win: Ricky Reeth (1-0)
Loss: Ryan Furey (0-1)
Save: Tobey McDonough (1)

Line Scores
ND | 5 R, 6 H, 0 E, 9 LOB
UNF | 3 R, 6 H, 1 E, 8 LOB

Statistical Leaders
ND
Carson Tinney | 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
Estevan Moreno | 1-4, 2 R, BB
Jack Radel | 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 K

UNF
Connor Moore | 2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB
Drew Leinenbach | 1-3, 2B, R
Jackson Bellhorn | 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K

UP NEXT
The Ospreys continue their weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday Feb. 15. First pitch for game one is slated for 2 p.m. UNF will broadcast both games on ESPN+. Updates for each game will be made through live stats, as well as on X/Twitter at @OspreyBSB and Instagram at @OspreysBSB.