March 16, 2013

7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Lafayette 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 9 1 North Florida 2 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 x 7 14 1 Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) 1

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Quality starting pitching and an early lead allowed North Florida to cruise to a 7-1 win over Lafayette on Saturday afternoon at Harmon Stadium. With the loss, Lafayette falls to 2-12 on the year, while North Florida improves to 14-6.

North Florida starter Kyle Westwood allowed consecutive singles to Kevin Casey (2-for-4) and Thomas Dunleavy (3-for-5) to open the game, before settling in and striking out the side to escape the inning and avoid any damage. Westwood was terrific for the Ospreys the entire afternoon and struck out 11 Lafayette hitters in 5.2 innings of work, while scattering six hits and allowing one run.

The home team wasted no time in lighting up the scoreboard, pushing across a pair of runs in its first trip to the plate, and then doubled the lead with two more in the bottom of the second inning. In the first, an RBI groundout by Tyler Marincov and Corbin Olmstead's sacrifice fly brought home Joe Wielbruda and Drew Weeks, who each reached safely with base hits and completed a successful double-steal against Lafayette starter Connor Ortolf.

After two more punchouts by Westwood in the top of the second, the Ospreys capitalized on extra base hits by Peyton Walsh and Kyle Brooks to push their advantage to 4-0. Brooks then led off the bottom of the fourth inning with his second triple of the day and came home on Wielbruda's single up the middle. North Florida added another run in the frame and held a 6-0 cushion after four. The fourth marked the end of Ortolf's day, as the junior let up 10 hits and walked four.

The first two Lafayette batters were retired to start the fifth inning, before a four-pitch walk to Casey, a Dunleavy single and an RBI double by Scott Kelleher pushed Lafayette's lone run across. Cory Spera came out of Lafayette's bullpen to pitch 3.1 solid innings in relief and surrendered one run on four hits, while striking out two. Derek Gussaroff got the final two outs of the eighth inning and left two runners on base after coming on for Spera.

Lafayette failed to score after the fifth, eventually falling by the 7-1 final, due in part to 3.1 innings of scoreless pitching by Evan Incinelli, who surrendered three hits and struck out two to earn the save.

The final game of the series is set to begin at Noon on Sunday with left-hander Michael Massa projected to make the start on the mound for Lafayette.