The Ospreys’ softball team won one out of three in the series against Lipscomb in Nashville, Tennessee.
North Florida (25-23, 7-8) started out with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 11, in which they fell 6-1 to Lipscomb (21-22, 7-5) in the first game. Shelby Duncan had a double in the top of the third driving Alex Arciola, freshman catcher, home to score the lone run of the game.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Ospreys fell 2-1 after a walk-off home run by the Bisons. The Ospreys took the lead at the top of the sixth after a wild pitch allowed junior Stacy McClelland to score. The Bisons answered back in the bottom half of the sixth with an RBI single from Caitlin Plocheck to tie the game. After UNF’s unsuccessful attempt to score in the top of the seventh, Lipscomb’s Gracey Aguirre came to the plate for the Bisons in the bottom of the inning and ended the game with a solo home run.
In the finale of the series, the Ospreys came home with a 7-6 victory. After a slow start for both teams, the Ospreys were able to get on the scoreboard first in the top of the fourth. McClelland pulled in her 35th RBI of the season with a sacrificed fly ball that sent senior Kelly Wilson home. North Florida senior Abby Tewey scored her first homerun of the season in the top of the fifth giving the Ospreys a 2-0 advantage. After a hailstorm of Osprey runs in the top of the sixth, the Bisons would come alive in the bottom half of the inning improving the deficit to only three runs. By the bottom of the seventh Lipscomb had brought the game within one run, but were cut short by Osprey pitching via Kayla Goff, senior, who earned her 12th win of the season.
“Our offense really came alive as we went deeper into the game,” UNF Head Coach Marcie Hickey said. “A lot of different people came up with big hits to give us a 6-1 lead. We were able to fight off a late Lipscomb rally after we added an insurance run in the seventh.”
Next on the Ospreys’ schedule is a series against the Stetson Hatters at Stetson on Wed., April 15. First pitch is set at 4 p.m.
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