North Florida fell in the ASUN tournament to FGCU and JU in DeLand, Fla.

FGCU vs UNF

The Ospreys faced the FGCU Eagles in the first round of the ASUN tournament in a devastating 4-0 loss.

UNF  made their way to DeLand, Fla. to take on the Eagles, the  No. 3 team in the ASUN, in the conference opener. With a crowd of nearly 500 spectators the Eagles and the Ospreys were ready to battle.

Things did not start fast as only one hit was recorded in the entire first inning by the Eagles. For three-straight innings FGCU scored one run each making the score 3-0 by the end of the fourth inning.

After a quiet fifth inning with no hits or runs, the Eagles would put up on a last run in the bottom of the sixth to seal the game.

This game broke senior Alex Merritt’s seven-game hit streak and 13-game on base streak. The Ospreys had one of the lowest amount of hits in a game this season with three hits.

The final score stood at 4-0 with the Eagles claiming the victory.

JU vs UNF

The Ospreys hoped to bounce back as they played their rivals the JU Dolphins. After being defeated the day before, UNF  took a heartbreaking loss to the the JU in an 8-5 defeat to end the season.

North Florida started off strong  and scored three runs in the first inning.

With one out on the board, the Dolphins walked redshirt senior Patrick Ervin. Senior Alex Merritt helped Ervin home after he smacked a triple down to the right center. With Merritt on base, senior Chris Thibideau hit a homerun down center field bumping the score to 3-0 at the top of the first.

The Dolphins didn’t go silent in the first inning, scoring one run off an error by the Ospreys.

There were only two hits between the second and third inning. One from the Ospreys and one by the Dolphins, but neither team would score.

As the fourth inning began the Ospreys grabbed a hold on two more runs. North Florida had one out recorded when redshirt junior Blake Voyles tripled down the right field. Junior Rey Gonzalez, up to bat next, hit a single down the third-base line bringing Voyles home. Gonzalez came home right after off a double.

The score stood at 5-1 at the top of the fourth.

Then the Dolphins were up to bat. In the bottom of the fourth, the Dolphins were able to round up two runs making the score 5-3.

The Ospreys did not score for the rest of the game, while the Dolphins grabbed five more runs before the game was over. The Dolphins scored two runs in the sixth, one in the seventh and two in the eighth.

Although the Ospreys ended with a loss, there were some great performances including sophomore pitcher Frank German and redshirt senior Matthew Naylor. German had a 118 pitch career-high and Naylor took complete possession of the school record for career appearances with 87 appearances.

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