This was not the greatest way to end the tournament for UNF, but it was a pretty darned good tournament showing for them to just be in the finals. Battling from behind late against Lipscomb and getting some measure of revenge against cross-town rival JU, the pitching was just a bit worn down. 

JU will still get an NCAA tournament bid, they may have to travel a bit further now. Stetson was the class of the conference and it showed. Congratulations to them. 

from Jacksonville.com
https://www-jacksonville-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/www.jacksonville.com/sports/20180526/stetsons-senger-denies-unf-in-asun-baseball-final

Stetson's Senger denies UNF in ASUN baseball final - Sports - The Florida Times-Union - Jacksonville, FL

By Clayton Freeman
May 22 at 11:01 AMStetson's Senger denies UNF in ASUN baseball final

Posted May 26, 2018 at 5:39 PM

Updated May 26, 2018 at 5:53 PMStetson center fielder Jacob Koos (1) slides around the tag of UNF catcher Rey Gonzalez to score on Eric Foggo's two-run single in the first inning of Saturday's Atlantic Sun baseball championship. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]▲

Only one person at the University of North Florida's Harmon Stadium saw faults in the pitching of Stetson's Mitchell Senger Saturday afternoon, and that was Mitchell Senger.
"I felt like every time I left one down the middle, which felt like pretty frequently, the defense made a play," he said.

For everyone else, particularly the host Ospreys, there was just one word to describe the freshman starter.

Unhittable.

Fourth-seeded UNF's run in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament ended in a 6-0 championship game loss to Stetson and their freshman pitcher, who fired a three-hit shutout to bring the Hatters their second ASUN title in three years.

The red-hot Hatters (45-11), winners of a national-best 15 consecutive games, earned the ASUN's automatic bid to the NCAA regionals while further demonstrating a time-honored principle of playoff baseball.

As Stetson coach Steve Trimper said, "One pitcher can shut you down."

On Saturday, it was UNF's turn.

In 117 pitches and nine innings, Senger allowed only five baserunners and struck out six Ospreys. UNF never got a runner as far as third base and only twice reached second base, in the second and ninth innings.

"Fastball, changeup, two curveballs, everything was where he wanted them today," UNF coach Tim Parenton said.

The lefty mowed down the Ospreys (28-28) and retired 13 straight batters from the second through the sixth, keeping the ball on the ground - a mammoth foul ball by Chris Matthias in the fifth was the major exception. Hatters' infielders Kyle Ball and Jonathan Meola scooped up those grounders again and again.

"We put the ball in play off him pretty good, but the ball just didn't fall where we needed it to," UNF center fielder Tanner Murphy said.

By contrast, Stetson struck fast against the Ospreys' depleted staff, which had top-four starters Frank German, Austin Drury, Brad Deppermann and Ethan Michaelis all out of action after pitching in the last three days.

The Hatters pounded the baseball off UNF starter Cooper Bradford, who only lasted two-thirds of an inning before getting rocked from the mound by a Stetson lineup that sent all nine batters to the plate.

Parenton pointed to Andrew MacNeil's leadoff infield single as the moment that started the Ospreys' woe in an inning where the misery built by the minute.

"The big play of the game was the first chopper, the slow, slow roller where their guy busts down the line and gets [the hit]," Parenton said. "That gets their momentum going right off the bat."

Then came an RBI double from Mike Spooner, a hit batsman, a two-RBI single by Eric Foggo, a blooper over the infield and a double down the line by Austin Hale to drive in two more, plunging the Ospreys into a five-run hole just 25 minutes after the opening pitch.

"We've been really timid sometimes at the plate," Hale said. "I think, honestly, we were really aggressive and we put pressure on them."

By the time UNF's Matt Vaka arrived in the second to put out the fire, staying on the mound through 4.2 innings of scoreless relief, the damage was done.

The Ospreys almost didn't make it to Saturday in the first place.

They needed a comeback from three runs down to beat Lipscomb 7-6 Friday afternoon in an elimination game, then knocked out rival Jacksonville University 6-2 in Friday's late game. First baseman Blake Voyles helped the Ospreys to victory with a three-run double.
UNF's season is done, while JU will await the NCAA selection committee's announcement Monday. Baseball America most recently projected the Dolphins as a No. 2 seed in the Tallahassee Regional, while D1Baseball.com forecast them as a No. 2 seed bound for Gainesville.

UNF's Voyles and German earned spots on the ASUN all-tournament team, along with JU's Angel Camacho, Scott Dubrule and Ruben Someillan. Stetson first baseman Foggo was named the tournament's most valuable player, going 6 for 15 with four runs batted in, one of five Hatters on the squad.

"Are we happy? No, we got beat. We wanted to win the championship, that's what we're here for, to win championships," Parenton said. "But did they battle every pitch? Yes. We battled to the end."

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JU Stays Unbeaten in ASUN Baseball Championship - Jacksonville University

Jacksonville University advances to face Stetson at the top of the winners bracket, while UNF falls to the loser's bracket to face Lipscomb, who dispatched NJIT.

Kennesaw State received a version of the home game with it's close 2-1 loss to Stetson. Kennesaw drew an early lead against Logan Gilbert, but could not hold it. So far all games, with the possible exception of Lipscomb over NJIT and UNF over Kennesaw State, have held to form, albeit with much nail-biting. 

JU and UNF may face-off again if form holds, this time with season-ending ramifications. JU has a better shot to win now that Gilbert has been cleared as a potential starter. JU-Stetson should be a good one.  

Team          RPI     Record vs. sub-10 RPI teams

Stetson         #7         16- 7 

JU                #19       11-10  

Kennesaw   #112       6-18 

UNF           #127        7-13 

NJIT           #148        4-6

Lipscomb   #171        8-15

from judolphins.com

http://www.judolphins.com/sports/bsb/2017-18/releases/2018052500p2eu

JU Stays Unbeaten in ASUN Baseball Championship

May 24, 2018

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A River City Rumble rubber match went Jacksonville University baseball's way, a 4-3 win that ended in dramatic fashion Thursday at Harmon Stadium to keep the Dolphins in the winner's bracket of the ASUN Baseball Championship.

Chris Gau hit a pinch-hit RBI single to give the Dolphins (39-17) the lead for good in the fifth, and a bizarre play in the ninth kept North Florida (26-27) from tying it.
UNF hit an infield single off starter Spencer Stockton (8-5) with one out in the ninth, and closer Chris Mauloni entered, surrendering a soft single to right before a pop up dropped fair down the left field line to score a run. Left fielder Cory Garrastazu had a hard time picking up, before throwing the ball into second. The throw sailed over Chris Lehane's head, and the runner at third broke home. Angel Camacho was there to back it up, and quickly rifled the ball to the plate. The runner tripped and fell five feet short of home plate, and after Franco Guardascione scooped the ball out of the dirt, he applied the tag for the second out of the ninth. Mauloni then struck out the final batter to earn his 20th save of the year.

"Unbelievable college baseball game tonight," said Head Coach Chris Hayes. "Both teams were extremely competitive, neither one willing to give an inch."

JU drew first blood for the second game in a row, when Ruben Someillan walked to lead off the first, advanced to second on Lehane's 19th sacrifice bunt of the year, third on a groundout and scored on Camacho's single to right.

UNF answered with two in the third to take the lead. Four hits, all singles, gave the Ospreys a brief lead, as JU tied it right back up a half inning later. Duncan Hunter reached on another leadoff walk, one of nine free passes issued by Osprey pitchers, and took third on a failed pickoff play that resulted in a two-base error. Someillan lofted a sacrifice fly into center to knot things back up until the fifth.

Scott Dubrule singled with one-out, his eleventh career multi-hit game vs. the Ospreys, and Sam Armstrong walked with two-outs before the Dolphins went to the bench and brought in Gau, who only had two at-bats in conference play this year prior to tonight. He sailed one to the opposite field just past the outstretched arm of the third baseman and Dubrule scored to make it 3-2.

"Coach Hayes is always telling us to be ready at any moment," said Gau. "I was just lucky enough to find enough barrel to get it past the third baseman."

Guardascione gave JU a big insurance run with a solo home run to left in the eighth.
Stockton worked into the ninth for the second time this season, retiring nine in a row and 16 of the last 17 he faced prior to the infield single that ended his night.

"Franco and I were on the same page, and stuck to the bread and butter," said Stockton.
"Spencer continued to get better and better as the game went on" said Hayes. "His location really sharpened."

"Didn't want to pull him in the ninth, but his pitch count got up there and it's nice to have Mauloni in the pen."

Mauloni's ninth was not perfect, but the strikeout after the wacky play for the second out moved him back into a tie for the national lead in saves. The freshman from Jacksonville also became only the 26th player in NCAA history to hit the 20 save mark in a season.
Jacksonville plays #1 seed Stetson in the winner's bracket game tomorrow at 11 a.m. The game can be followed on ESPN+, Mixlr and 1010XL, joining in progress at noon.

Sent from my iPhone

This is a good start for the Ospreys. Their ace goes out and does his job, but the task gets tougher as they advance. In a #3 vs. #4 seed match-up, neither team can afford to go down the rotation as #1 seed Stetson was able to do, pitching their #3 starter vs. #6 seed NJIT. 

The clear tournament favorites are Stetson and Jacksonville. After that sits UNF and Kennesaw State, with Lipscomb and NJIT in the "two and barbecue" category. 

All bets will be off in the backyard rivalry match-up between UNF and JU. Prior stats don't mean anything. But that's true of tournaments in general, mitigated slightly by the double-elimination format. 

Deep pitching will rule the day and it would seem that Stetson has that over the others. 

from unfospreys.com

http://unfospreys.com/news/2018/5/23/baseball-ospreys-roll-in-first-round-of-asun-tournament.aspx

North Florida Downs Owls In ASUN Tournament Opener

May. 23, 2018 Baseball

Box Score

Final Score: North Florida 7, Kennesaw State 1

Location: Jacksonville, Fla. (Harmon Stadium)

Records: North Florida (26-26) | Kennesaw State (25-29)

WP: Frank German (8-3)  | LP: AJ Moore (5-3)

Jacksonville, Fla. – The North Florida Baseball team used a dominant start from junior Frank German and a solid day at the plate to pick up a 7-1 victory over Kennesaw State in the opening round of the ASUN Tournament at Harmon Stadium.

LEADING OFF

- Frank German picked up his second complete game of the season as he went the distance allowing just one earned run while tying his career-high with 10 strikeouts in the victory. 

- He is the first Osprey since 2004 to hit the 100 strikeout plateau. Travis Stanton had 116 strikeouts during the 2004 campaign.

- Blake Voyles paced the Osprey offense with his 17th multi-hit game of the season and his sixth three-hit game of the year. 

- Chris Berry, Dalton Board and Chris Matthias each chipped in with two hits apiece for North Florida.

- Mac Wilson extended his reached base streak to a team-high 13 games and Voyles has matched his season-high with 11 in a row.

- The Ospreys scored five times in the seventh for their 10th game with a five run inning this season. Its the Ospreys seventh win when scoring 5+ in an inning this season.

- It was the Ospreys first opening round win in the ASUN Tournament since 2016 when UNF took down FGCU 12-4. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

- UNF's offense got going in the fourth when Jay Prather lined a single thru the infield which allowed Voyles to come into score and give the Ospreys the 1-0 lead.

- In the seventh, Berry lined a single up the middle to plate Rey Gonzalez followed quickly by a Board RBI single to score Abraham Sequera and make it 3-0.

- Voyles picked up a two-run single to make it 5-0 which was followed on the next pitch by Wilson lining another single up the middle to score Voyles and cap off the 5-run frame. 

- Berry added one more RBI single in the eighth to make it 7-0.

- KSU scored its lone run in the ninth on a sac fly to make it a 7-1 final. 

WHAT'S NEXT

The Ospreys move on in the winners bracket on Thursday against their cross-town rival No. 2 Jacksonville at 7 p.m. at Harmon Stadium.

• If North Florida takes down Jacksonville on Thursday, the Ospreys advance to Friday morning's semifinal with an 11 a.m. first pitch against either No.1 Stetson or No. 3 Kennesaw State. 
• If the Ospreys fall to the Dolphins, UNF faces the winner of No. 5 Lipscomb vs No. 6 NJIT in a win or go home matchup at 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon. 

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Liberty Announces Move To Atlantic Sun Conference

This is a good move for UNF and the Atlantic Sun Conference. Liberty in exchange for South Carolina Upstate is a move you make all day, every day. Adding North Alabama would seem to indicate there is either another addition or subtraction pending. Both Liberty and North Alabama are good adds as far as raising the conference profile, as the story indicates. Somehow, I feel as if NJIT is not a great fit. But that's just me. 

from baseballamerica.com

Liberty Announces Move To Atlantic Sun Conference:

Liberty will next school year join the Atlantic Sun Conference, the school announced Thursday. The Flames have been a member of the Big South Conference since 1991.

With South Carolina-Upstate this fall announcing it would move from the Atlantic Sun to the Big South next school year, the conferences have essentially swapped teams in a move that seems to make sense for everyone.

North Alabama will also join the A-Sun next year as it begins its process of reclassifying from Division II to Division I, though the Lions will not be postseason eligible until 2023.

Liberty’s addition also helps the A-Sun on the diamond, where it has been ascendant in the last two years. Florida Gulf Coast had a breakthrough year in 2017, rising to No. 11 in the Top 25 and advancing to regionals for the first time as a Division I program. This year, both Jacksonville and Stetson have been ranked in the Top 25 and are on track to reach the NCAA Tournament, which would be the first time since 2013 the conference received multiple bids in one season.

'via Blog this'

Este es un buen movimiento para la UNF y la Atlantic Sun Conference. Liberty a cambio de South Carolina Upstate es un movimiento que realiza todo el día, todos los días. Agregar North Alabama parecería indicar que hay otra suma o resta pendiente. Tanto Liberty como North Alabama son buenos agregados en cuanto a elevar el perfil de la conferencia, como lo indica la historia. De alguna manera, siento como si NJIT no fuera una gran opción. Pero así soy yo.