Fresh off upsetting the third-ranked Florida Gators, the Ospreys defeated the Fordham Rams in 12 innings with a walkoff walk

At the Plate

In the top of the sixth, Junior Matt Tarabek hit a deep fly ball to right to score a runner for a 1-0 Fordham lead.

The Ospreys bats were quiet until the bottom of the sixth when there were runners on the corners with one out. Junior Tanner Murphy legged out an infield single to score one and on the very next at-bat, Junior David Maberry singled to left to score another run to break the tie for a 2-1 Ospreys lead. Junior Tanner May connected on a single to left to drive in an insurance run for a 3-1 lead.

In the ninth, Sophomore Nick Labella connected on a deep homer to left to tie the game at three.

In the bottom of the twelfth, the Ospreys walked to load the bases with no outs. May stepped up to the plate and walked it off with a walk to score Murphy for a 4-3 Ospreys win

On the mound

It was a pitchers duel early in the game as the bats were quiet for both sides in the first half. Both starters found trouble in the sixth inning as their scoreless run streaks snapped.

Senior Brad Depperman was cruising until the the top of the sixth, where he was in a bases loaded jam with one out. After surrendering a run to the Rams on a sacrifice fly to right, Depperman found his groove again, finishing with seven innings of one-run-ball and striking out seven.

Senior Ethan Michaelis entered the eighth in a setup role and went three up, three down against the Rams. In the ninth, Labella connected on a deep homer to left to tie the game at three. That was all for Michaelis as he was replaced by Redshirt-Junior Eddie Miller, who was also caught in a jam with runners on the corners with two outs. The lefty escaped the jam by forcing a groundout to short as the Ospreys headed to the top of the ninth.

Miller talked to Spinnaker about his performance in the win against Fordham.

“I just kept within myself, did my thing, and hit my spots. Good things happen when you hit your spots,” Miller said.

UNF Baseball Manager Tim Parenton talked to Spinnaker about the team win in game one of the series against Fordham.

“They (Fordham) hit a big home run to tie it up but our guys never gave in and we had a good win,” Parenton said.

Worth Noting

Miller picked up his first win of the season, finishing with four scoreless innings of relief allowing no hits.

Redshirt-Senior Wes Weeks was the only Osprey with a multi-hit game (2)

__

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact editor@unfspinnaker.com.