Baseball falls just short in road duel against South Carolina

Riley Platt, Sports Editor
April 13, 2022

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Ospreys flew north to face the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), losing in a low-scoring affair Tuesday.

Despite being in different conferences, the Gamecocks are a familiar foe of the Ospreys. In last season’s meeting, South Carolina squeaked out a 7-6 win in the game’s closing moments. The University of North Florida (UNF) had a chance to take revenge on Tuesday, something that just never materialized.

Playing in an SEC park often guarantees one thing: a big crowd. Nearly six thousand fans filled the stands of Founder’s Park to catch the action Tuesday night. 

Redshirt junior pitcher Matthew Tadlock got the start for the Ospreys, throwing three innings and some change to get things underway. Allowing only one earned run off of three hits, the Gamecocks weren’t able to jump out to much of a lead early on in the game.

As for the Ospreys, offense didn’t come easy in the opening innings. Luckily, the Gamecocks weren’t piling on runs either, not scoring again until the fifth inning. Sacrifice was key, as a groundout by outfielder Andrew Eyster brought in the game’s second run.

Now down 2-0, UNF needed to respond. Help was on the way, from who else but Abraham Sequera. Friday night’s hero from the win over Jacksonville University came through yet again, bringing in two runs on a double to tie the game.

While the score was locked even, it was not time to let off the gas. This was proven as the Gamecocks struck immediately after the big inning for UNF. Catcher Colin Burgess let it fly, sneaking a home run over the left-field fence to return the lead to South Carolina.

There was more to follow, with Gamecocks infielder Josiah Sightler ripping a no-doubt home run to right field, getting caught in the palm trees that stand behind the fence. In a low-scoring game of this nature, two runs could be all it takes to secure a win. UNF was in desperate need of more offense with only two innings left.

Help never came, though, with the South Carolina bullpen preventing UNF from scoring any more runs. A valiant effort fell short , with the Ospreys suffering yet another heartbreaking loss in Columbia. 

The Ospreys must put this tough fall behind them, as they will return to the Sunshine State to face the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on the road this weekend. UNF is in for another competitive three games, so moving on from Tuesday’s loss will be critical to bouncing back. 

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