3/11/2002 - Baseball
Mids Fall to North Florida, 14-3
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ? The Navy baseball team dropped a 14-3 decision to Division II North Florida Monday evening at Harmon Stadium.
?We lost to a very good team tonight," Navy head coach Steve Whitmyer said. "We knew that we would have to play well and we didn't. We just did not pitch or hit the ball very well. Now, we just need to put this game behind us, as we get ready to play Stetson tomorrow."
In the bottom of the second inning, UNF (18-5) took a 1-0 lead on Ben Johanning sacrifice fly to center field that scored Ryan McDonald, who led off the inning with a double to left center.
Ranked fifth in the Division II top 25, the Ospreys continued the onslaught in the bottom of the third. Scott Bridges hit a three-run homer to left center off Navy starting pitcher Tom Gritter (So./Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), his fourth of the season. The Mids then got two-straight outs, however first baseman Rusty Hearn (Jr./Lake Wales, Fla.) had a ground ball go through his legs to keep the inning alive for UNF. Johanning singled to right field and then Ricky Willis poked a three-run round tripper over the right field wall, as UNF built a 7-0 lead.
UNF?s two-run fourth inning increased the Ospreys? lead nine, however Navy (5-7) pushed across three runs in the top of the fifth on Dean Farmer?s two-out bases-clearing double to right center. Dom Nicolini (Sr./Merrillville, Ind.), Brian Whitten (Sr./Westfield, Mass.) and Craig Candeto (So./Orange City, Fla.) all scored on the play, trimming the lead to 9-3.
Back-to-back singles by Neil Brubeck (Sr./Bryan, Texas) and Jake Miller (Jr./Santa Maria, Calif.) gave the Mids life in the top of the sixth. Hearn and Matt Lukevics (Fr./Tampa, Fla.) then struck out, before Nicolini came and singled through the right side of the UNF infield. Brubeck rounded third on the play, but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
The Ospreys added another run in the sixth on Willis? RBI-single to left field, scoring pinch hitter Jesse Collins from second base and four more in the seventh for the game?s final margin, 14-3.
UNF starting pitcher Robert Burris improved to 1-0 with the win, while Gritter dropped to 0-1 in his first start of the season.
Navy returns to action Tuesday evening when the Mids travel to DeLand, Fla., to take on Stetson at 7 p.m.
