As a left-handed pitcher for the UNF baseball team, junior Robbie Collier practices hard on the pitcher’s mound, but he’s made the Spinnaker’s player of the week because of his performance at the plate.

“He swings the bat really nicely, and he’s a really strong player,” said head baseball coach Dusty Rhodes. “He’s played for UNF for a couple years, and he knows how to get up there and win.

During the 2010 South Alabama Classic in Mobile, Ala., Collier played a critical role in adding runs for the Ospreys, despite the UNF team’s three-game losing streak throughout the tournament from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28.

Collier is one of the main baseball players who leads the Ospreys offensively. Going into the South Alabama Classic, Collier was batting .500, going 3-for-6 with five runs, an RBI and three walks. He continued adding to those numbers throughout the tournament.

During the Feb. 27 game against the tournament-host South Alabama, Collier recorded a pair of hits and a double at the start of the sixth inning, just over the head of one of South Alabama’s left fielders.

In addition, both Collier and junior in fielder Andrew Hannon each scored a run to help bring the Ospreys to a 2-1 lead over the Jaguars. Still the runs weren’t enough to hold South Alabama back from regaining the lead and sealing a 4-2 victory over UNF.

Collier once again tried to score another hit in the Feb. 28 game against Eastern Michigan in the first inning, but a strike out and double play after Collier had advanced to the bases left EMU unscathed by UNF’s attempts to score. The Eagles beat the Ospreys with a final score of 10-8.

To see more from Collier and the UNF baseball team, its next home game is Friday, March 5 at 7 p.m. against James Madison.