The University of North Florida baseball team walked off Power Four opponent University of Central Florida by the score of 6-5 on a chilly Tuesday evening at Harmon Stadium. 

Potent leadoff hitter Nick Monile, who finished the game 3-5 with two runs batted in, hit a high ground ball to the left side of the infield, deep enough to score veteran infielder Connor Moore from third. 

But this wasn’t the only play from UNF in an eventful ninth. Freshman Seth Alford launched a game-tying home run to open the inning, followed by a Tyler Gerteisen walk, for whom Moore pinch ran. 

“Seth Alford for a freshman really rose to the occasion,” said head coach Joe Mercadante. “And we expected that he’s such a good player, very coachable, loves to compete.”

With the game tied at five, Moore stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Next up was Monile, sporting an average over .340, and all he had to do was put the ball in play. 

And the rest was history. After almost defeating Florida twice, and nearly winning the series over Notre Dame, Mercadante secured his second win over a Power Four program as North Florida’s skipper. 

“I think we have it in us,” said the second-year skipper. “I think we knew we needed to go get that tough win.”

It’s no surprise that UNF had to win a challenging game, considering they were playing a Power Four team. Despite scoring first on a Cade Bush single, the Ospreys gave away the lead quickly and allowed traffic on the bases for most of the game. 

UCF tallied seven hits during the top of the second and third innings, but only scored two runs off those hits. Even though this was enough for the Knights to take the 2-1 lead, it felt like UCF left some runs off the board. 

Given the circumstances, UNF was lucky to be down just 2-1 after four innings because the Knights were out-hitting the Ospreys 8-3. After handing UCF the lead, senior reliever Jordan Wimpelberg blanked UCF in the fourth and fifth innings, keeping the game within reach for UNF. 

Alford led off the home fifth with a walk and advanced to scoring position on an Eric Fouraker sacrifice bunt. UNF now had a runner on second with their best hitter at the plate. The Ospreys tied the game at 2-2 thanks to Monile, who hit a seeing-eye single up the middle. 

However, UCF took the lead in the sixth on two run-scoring hits. Now trailing 4-2, the Ospreys offense answered, continuing this roller coaster of a game. Cade Bush opened the inning with a single, but Brady Browning grounded into a double play. 

While the frame looked over with nobody on base and two outs, the Ospreys were destined for a two-out rally. Redshirt freshman Carter White, playing against his former team, lasered a single up the middle. White proceeded to steal second base, then Drew Leinenbach walked, and both players advanced to scoring position after a UCF wild pitch. 

Down two, with a pair of runners in scoring position, Seth Alford lined a single to right, the infielder’s first of two big hits on the night, equaling the score at four. Despite recording hits in the next two innings, both pitching staffs kept the game tied until the final frame. 

UCF took the 5-4 lead on a ninth-inning bases-loaded walk. When UCF responded by snatching the lead, UNF always had an answer. Ultimately, that was the difference in North Florida’s 19th win. 

“As I told [the team], that was as competitive as i’ve seen them for nine innings all year,” Mercadante said after the win. “No matter what adversity came at us we came at them with tough at bats.”

After the series loss against West Georgia, Mercadante hoped the team would have a short memory. If someone takes one look at Tuesday’s game, they certainly would believe UNF put the home series loss behind them.

“I think that’s what we knew as coaches we had in us,” Mercadante said, referring to his squad’s short memory after losses. “I think it’s great for the players to see it actually happen.”

Looking ahead to this weekend, Mercadante wants his squad to bring this same competitive intensity to every remaining game on North Florida’s schedule. 

“We’ve got to bring it like that every single day,” the head coach said. 

The Ospreys improve to 19-14, while UCF drops to 18-14. UNF will now travel to Stetson for a weekend series from April 11-13.