Donnie Dewees scored three times and drove in two runs to lead the University of North Florida baseball team to a 7-2 victory over Northern Kentucky University in Atlantic Sun Conference opener for the Norse on Thursday evening at Harmon Stadium.
Dewees finished 2-for-4 from the plate and recorded a double and home run as North Florida improved to 21-11 overall and 2-2 in the Atlantic Sun. Ryan Roberson went 2-for-2 with one double, one RBI and one run scored, while James Abbatinozzi rounded out the two-hit batters for the Ospreys, who recorded 10 hits and left eight runners stranded.
NKU is 9-16 overall, 0-1 in conference play.
Evan Incinelli (3-2) earned the victory for North Florida, giving up just one unearned run on six hits over six innings of work. He struck out three batters, walked one and hit two.
North Florida opened the game’s scoring in the bottom of the first. With one out, Dewees, Trent Higginbothem and Roberson recorded three straight doubles to give the Ospreys a 2-0 lead. After Corbin Olmstead flew out to Ryan LeFevers in left field, Abbatinozzi’s infield single allowed Roberson to score on a throwing error by Caleb Lonkard for a 3-0 North Florida advantage.
Alex Bacon drew a walk, and Abbatinozzi and Bacon each advanced a base on a wild pitch before Patrick Ervin was walked to load the bases. Garrick Ferguson, however, grounded out to end the Opsreys’ threat.
NKU got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth. Lonkard led off the inning by reaching on a throwing error by shortstop Kyle Brooks, and he went to second as Cole Bauml was hit by a pitch. Kyle Colletta singled to left field to load the bases before Cody Kuzniczci popped out. Lonkard came home on an RBI ground out by Trey Ganns to cut the Norse deficit to 3-1.
Bauml’s second double of the game and 21st of the season came in the seventh and found left-center field. He advanced to third and scored on back-to-back ground outs by Colletta and Kuzniczci to pull to Norse to within 7-2, and the five-run margin stood until the end of the game.
Bauml led the way for NKU, going 2-for-4 from the plate with two doubles and one run scored. Spurlin finished 2-for-3, while Anthony Vagnier went 2-for-4 for the Norse, who collected 10 hits on the night and left 11 on base. Korson (2-3) took the loss after surrendering five runs, four earned, on six hits in four innings of work.
NKU and North Florida return to Harmon Stadium on Friday at 6 p.m. The two teams will then conclude the three-game series at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Links to live stats and John Asalon’s audio broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com, and Saturday’s contest will be viewable on ASun.TV. Fans can also follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter for in-game updates.
From NKU Athletics