North Florida (18-13) plated four runs in the
second inning and scored in six different innings to defeat No. 1 Florida
(24-5), 10-5, on Tuesday night in front of 2,144 fans at Harmon Stadium, the
second-highest attendance in the facility’s history.
Senior T.J. Gavlik was 2-for-4 and drove in
three runs, senior Andrew Karmeris (2-for-5) homered and doubled and sophomore
Alex Bacon was 2-for-5 with two RBI and a pair of runs to help the Ospreys snap
a three-game losing streak to the Gators. Senior Chandler Jagodzinski (1-0)
threw two scoreless innings as the second of UNF’s five pitchers to earn the
victory, while freshman Bobby Poyner (Wellington, Fla.) (1-1), the
second of eight Gator pitchers, took the loss.
The Gators took advantage of an error to take
a 1-0 lead against senior Evan Stermer in the first inning. Senior Daniel
Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) (3-for-4, two runs) extended his hitting streak
to nine games with a leadoff infield single and freshman Casey Turgeon
(Palm Harbor, Fla.) (3-for-5) followed with a base-hit into right field. Junior
Mike Zunino’s (Cape Coral, Fla.) grounder to third base was misplayed by
Andrew Karmeris, enabling Pigott to score and Turgeon to reach third. Stermer
retired both senior Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) and freshman Taylor
Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.) on foul pop-ups and had junior Nolan Fontana
(Winter Garden, Fla.) ground out to end the frame.
Making his return to action for the first
time since Feb. 26, freshman right-hander Karsten Whitson (Chipley,
Fla.) breezed through the first inning on eight pitches (seven strikes) and
registered a pair of strikeouts.
UNF used four-straight hits off Poyner and five
total in the second inning to take a 4-1 lead. Sophomore Tyler Marincov started
things off with a double and senior Michael Wesner (3-for-4, two runs) singled
into right field to move his teammate to third. Bacon doubled to deep left
center to clear the bases and give the Ospreys a 2-1 lead. Junior Chris Carter
(2-for-4) singled into left field for runners on the corners and Poyner (4 H, 4
R, 3 ER) was replaced by freshman Johnny Magliozzi (East Milton, Mass.).
Bacon scored on junior Corey Bass’ fielder’s choice, and a throwing error by
junior first baseman Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) enabled Carter
to take third. Gavlik roped an RBI single into left field to bring home Carter
with the fourth run. A sacrifice bunt by junior Joe Wielbruda pushed Bass and
Gavlik into scoring position and Magliozzi caught Andrew Karmeris looking on
strikes and had junior Paul Karmeris ground out to prevent any further damage.
A two-out RBI single by Carter in the third
frame expanded UNF’s advantage to 5-1. Wesner poked a one-out single into right
field and was able to reach second base on a fielding error by Tucker.
Magliozzi had Bacon foul out to third base and Carter drove in Wesner with a
hard single up the middle.
Andrew Karmeris launched his third homer of
the year to left field with two down in the fourth to build a 6-1 margin for
the Ospreys.
Florida narrowed the gap to 6-3 in the fifth
inning. Junior Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.) (1-for-4, two runs)
reached on an error by Gavlik to open the stanza, Pigott drew a walk from freshman
Spencer Herrmann and Turgeon bunted for a single to load the bases with none
out. Zunino grounded into a 5-3 double play, bringing Dent across, and Tucker
delivered an RBI single into left center to score Turgeon and prompt a pitching
change. Junior Trey Ferrano came in for Herrmann (1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R) and had
Gushue ground out.
Sophomore Daniel Gibson (Lutz, Fla.)
replaced Magliozzi (3.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER) prior to the Ospreys’ fifth at bat
and surrendered a one-out single into center field to Bacon before walking Carter
and Bass to fill the bags. Gavlik brought home Bacon with an RBI grounder to
first base for a 7-3 score, ending the stint for Gibson. Freshman Justin
Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) had Wielbruda line out to Fontana to strand the
runners.
The Ospreys tacked on another run in the
sixth on a wild pitch for an 8-3 lead. Andrew Karmeris doubled to left field to
begin the inning and went to third on a grounder by his brother Paul. Shafer
had Marincov fly out to center field and then walked Wesner intentionally before
uncorking a wild pitch that brought home Karmeris.
Zunino lofted a sacrifice fly in the seventh
that brought the Gators within 8-4. Pigott led off the frame with a single and
Turgeon blooped a double down the left-field line. Zunino’s team-leading sixth
sac fly reduced the deficit to four runs and redshirt freshman Jamie Cardwell
replaced Ferrano (1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R). Tucker walked on four pitches but was
picked off first base before Gushue drew a two-out free pass. Cardwell had Fontana
fly out to complete the inning.
In the bottom of the frame, Gavlik ripped an
RBI triple into right center field off freshman Corey Stump (Lakeland,
Fla.) to score Bass and Andrew Karmeris’ two-out grounder was misplayed by
Maddox to bring home Gavlik for a 10-4 score.
Pigott’s third hit of the night was a two-out
double to the gap in right center field in the eighth that drove in Dent with
the game’s final run. Dent had singled and gone to second on a throwing error.
UNF held a 13-10 advantage in hits and each team committed three errors.
Florida returns to McKethan Stadium on
Thursday night by hosting No. 7 LSU (22-6/6-3 SEC) on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. in the
opener of a three-game series.
