After nine innings of baseball couldn’t separate the two sides, the University of North Florida fell short in extra innings this past Tuesday against South Carolina by a final score of 3-2. With the loss, the Ospreys fall to 21-20, entering the regular season’s home stretch.
Recap
Both pitching staffs started the game putting up zeroes. Senior right-hander Tommy Groom began the game for the Ospreys, pitching three innings and giving up no runs on no hits and four walks, striking out two Gamecocks batters in the process. He was aided by junior catcher Santiago Ordonez, who threw out two base runners attempting to steal second base, cementing the Ospreys’ strong start defensively. After Groom was taken out, junior left-hander Kai Etwaru added a scoreless inning of his own in relief.
Left-hander Jackson Soucie matched Groom and Etwaru for South Carolina, tossing five scoreless innings of his own. He allowed three hits and struck out three Osprey batters on 67 pitches, keeping the contest scoreless.
Senior right-hander Jordan Wimpleberg entered the game for the Ospreys in the fifth, and he quickly ran into trouble. After collecting a strikeout and a pop-out, Wimpleberg allowed an infield single to Gamecocks catcher Gavin Braland. Four pitches later, center fielder Nathan Hall took him deep to left center field, giving South Carolina the 2-0 lead.
The Ospreys got one back in the top of the sixth. Sophomore shortstop Mitchell Collins singled and advanced to second base on a throwing error by Gamecocks shortstop Will Tippett. This set the stage for senior left fielder Connor Moore, who capitalized on the mistake with an RBI single to cut into the South Carolina lead.
How the Game Ended
UNF pulled even in the eighth. Senior third baseman Brady Browning led off the inning with a ground-rule double down the right field line. After sophomore center fielder Nick Monile advanced Browning on a groundout, freshman second baseman Seth Alford drove him home on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2.
The Ospreys turned to junior right-hander Kaden Humphrey on the mound for the eighth and ninth innings, and he delivered, continuing his strong season. In his two innings of work, he walked three but collected four strikeouts, sending the game to extra innings.
Junior right-hander Brandon Adams replaced Humphrey to begin the 10th, but couldn’t keep South Carolina in check. Gamecocks second baseman Jordan Carrion scorched a double down the right field line to open the frame. Following an intentional walk issued to first baseman Beau Hollins, third baseman KJ Scobey smashed a 3-2 pitch into center field to score the winning run and give South Carolina the victory. With the win, South Carolina improves to 24-18.
Over the weekend, UNF lost two of three games to Stetson. The Ospreys are currently 22-22 on the season and 10-11 in conference play. UNF will look to get back on track as the Ospreys travel to UCF on Tuesday. First pitch is at 6 p.m. in Orlando.
