The University of North Florida baseball team went head to head in a three-game series at home this weekend, losing two out of three to the ASUN conference rival Lipscomb University.

The Ospreys were the victims of an explosive Lipscomb offense in the first two games, as the Bison scored a combined 37 runs on Friday and Saturday.

Game One

Things got off to a slow start, as North Florida did not manage to score until the third inning. Lipscomb, however, put up a run in the first thanks to a home run from Mason Lundgrin to make it 1-0. 

At the top of the third, the Bison increased their lead to two as Trace Willhoite hit the second homer of the game down the right-center field, which, along with a two-RBI double from Will Lee, allowed Lipscomb to take an early 4-0 lead.

But UNF cut that lead down in the same inning. Gabriel Esquivel scored the Ospreys’ first run after scoring on a wild pitch. Then, Jakob Runnels hit a two-RBI single, cutting Lipscomb’s lead down to just one, 4-3.

This is as close as the Ospreys would get. UNF failed to score for the remainder of the game as Lipscomb ran up the score. The opposing visitors put up four runs in the fourth, another three in the sixth and five in the seventh to make it 16-3 and send the Ospreys home early due to mercy rule.

Game Two

Things didn’t get much better for North Florida in game two. Despite going up 2-0 in the first inning, thanks to an RBI single from Jabin Bates and another run from him after loading the bases, Lipscomb’s scoring frenzy wasn’t over yet.

Lipscomb quickly took the lead in the second inning, thanks to two runs from Lee and another from Alex Vergara to make it 3-2. This was quickly followed by a pair of runs in the third to extend Lipscomb’s lead to three, 5-2.

UNF fought back in the fourth and fifth, as an RBI single from Finn Howell, an RBI double from Tripp McKinlay, and a homer from Runnels gave the Ospreys the lead by one, 6-5.

This all changed in the sixth, however. Despite putting up a run in the inning, North Florida had no answer for Lipscomb’s batting prowess as a stunning four RBI homer from Jacob Tobias gave the Bison back the lead, 9-7.

Things began to turn ugly for the Ospreys here. UNF failed to score in the remaining three innings as Lipscomb once again exploded with four runs in the seventh, a run in the eighth and an astounding seven runs in the ninth and final inning to take day two of the series 21-7.

Game Three

After suffering blowouts in the first two games of the series, the Ospreys looked like a completely different team in game three than on Friday and Saturday. They were giving fans a neck-and-neck thriller to end the weekend.

After both teams went scoreless to start the first three innings, North Florida got a hot start in the fourth with a 2-RBI triple from Fletcher Cline and an RBI single from Alex Rodriguez. Lipscomb soon responded in the fifth with a homer from David Coppedge and an RBI single from Lundgrin. But the Ospreys kept up with two runs to keep their lead by three, 5-2.

In the sixth, Lipscomb cut the lead to just one after a 2-RBI homer from Tobias to make it 5-4. The Bison failed to score in the seventh, but a fielding error allowed Cherokee Nichols to score for the Ospreys and extend UNF’s lead by two, 6-4.

After a scoreless eighth inning, Lundgrin hit an RBI single to cut UNF’s lead to just one. However, that’s all the Ospreys needed. UNF got out at second base before they could score any other runs, and as such, North Florida won the game and prevented the sweep, 6-5.

Following the three-game series, UNF has a 17-16 overall record. The team is tied for sixth place in the ASUN, holding a 7-8 conference record.

Runnels has proved to be a force at bat this season. Following Sunday’s game, he has reached a team-leading eight home runs this season.

The team will be hitting the road this week, first to Orlando on Tuesday to compete against the UCF Knights at 6 p.m., then just 20 minutes down the road this weekend to face off against rival Jacksonville University on Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

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