The UNF softball team is on a major hot streak. Having won twelve games in a row, the Ospreys are tied for first in the ASUN with a 6-0 record.
UNF is in the top five in the ASUN in all major statistical categories: batting (third), pitching (fifth) and fielding (first). The Ospreys are in the top two in every category for conference games.
The winning streak started on March 3 in Tempe, Arizona, when UNF took down James Madison to salvage a less-than-ideal road trip. In that game, the Ospreys looked to a leader who carried both sides of the ball all season: Allison Benning.
The junior from Minnesota has found her stride with the Ospreys, increasing her batting average by 10%. The Oregon transfer isn’t just making damage with her bat. Benning sports a 1.53 earned run average and has 12 wins as a pitcher.
Benning has played a crucial role in North Florida’s winning streak. She has hits in eleven of the Ospreys’ last twelve games and nine wins as a pitcher.
Players such as Shannon Glover, who has hit in ten of the twelve games during the winning streak, and Halle Arends, who has won four games as a pitcher during the streak, have also contributed.
Following the trip out west, the Ospreys returned to Jacksonville to face USC Upstate and Marist in the Jacksonville Spring Break Challenge. The Birds of Clay continued their dominance, winning all three games by 13 runs.
North Florida had one final tune up before ASUN play began and defeated Bucknell with a doubleheader sweep.
The Ospreys opened ASUN play against Austin Peay. UNF used its pitching to win two one-run games. The Ospreys won the series finale, securing the sweep over the Governors.
After the sweep, North Florida traveled to Nashville to face the Lipscomb Bisons. The Ospreys put on by far their best performance of the season, scoring their second-most runs in an 11-1 mercy rule win.
The following two games were more of the same. The only difference was that the Ospreys did not allow a run for the rest of the series. UNF shut out the Bisons in back-to-back games, which secured the Osprey’s second straight ASUN sweep.
UNF has shown the ability to win close games thanks to solid pitching and run prevention. The Ospreys have also proved they can dominate ASUN teams, hence the 11-1 and 6-0 wins over Lipscomb.
With 20 games remaining, the Ospreys are only eight wins away from passing their 2023 win total. At 22-8 overall, UNF has a tough five-game road stretch, including two games against UCF.
North Florida will now travel to Charlotte to face Queens this weekend. The doubleheader will start at 2 p.m. on Friday and include a standalone 12 p.m. game on Saturday.
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