Ospreys’ pitching woes continue in decisive loss to Rutgers

John Watson, News Director

In game two of a three-game series against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, the Ospreys once again had a tough time connecting on hits and holding their own on the mound in a 16-4 loss.

Darvin Nelson
Jeslyn Whitehead went 1.2 innings of shutout ball, striking out one.

Even though pitching was evenly matched early in the game, the Scarlet Knights began to mark runs on the board quickly when their bats finally came alive in the third inning.

Ospreys pitcher Brandon Reitz could not gain any momentum as he gave up five runs off of six hits before being pulled from the game with two outs in the fourth inning. Ryan Jean relieved Reitz but struggled in the fifth inning, giving up four runs on five hits.

Rutgers’ pitching was absolutely dominant backed by Tommy Genuario’s six inning performance. He silenced the Ospreys bats, giving up only three earned runs and a mere six hits. Parker Scott came in for the three-inning save and only allowed one run off of two hits.

The Scarlet Knights were backed by a monster performance from Danny DiGeorgio who went 3-for-4 and reached base five times, scoring a run on every plate appearance.

The Ospreys’ pitching continued to struggle after Reitz was benched as the pitching trio of Dominick Madonna, Justin Parrish and Hunter Bowling gave up six runs in the eighth inning. 

Madonna led off the inning giving up three straight walks and Parrish came into the game only to walk the next two batters and hit the third batter to give Rutgers three runs and a 13-3 lead. The damage was not done yet as Bowling came into the game and gave up three runs on a hit-by-pitch and a two-RBI single. Jeslyn Whitehead relieved Bowling and produced two outs to end a disastrous inning for the Ospreys.

UNF had a few warm spots on a chilly day when a pinch hit home run came from Tucker Horsley that cleared well over the left field fence. Another strong performance came from Chris Matthias who went 2-for-3 with two RBI’s.

The Ospreys play their last game of a three-game series against Rutgers on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 1:05 p.m. as the team looks to avoid a series sweep from the Scarlet Knights. 

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