March 17, 2013

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

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – North Florida pitching held Lafayette to two hits and Drew Weeks launched a three-run home run as the Ospreys completed a three-game sweep of Lafayette with a 7-1 win on Sunday afternoon at Harmon Stadium.

Each side went down in order in the first inning, as Lafayette’s top three hitters in the lineup were retired with swinging strikeouts by North Florida starter Michael Renner. Two more K’s for Renner preceded UNF’s first run of the game when Corbin Olmstead doubled to left center and was brought home on Paul Karmeris’ single up the middle as the Ospreys (15-6) took a 1-0 lead after two.

Following a quiet third inning offensively for each team, Lafayette (2-13) evened things up with a two-out RBI double off the bat of Scott Kelleher that chased home Campbell Lipe, who started the inning with a free pass. The tie score was short lived, however, as North Florida took advantage of two errors and regained its one-run lead (2-1) at the end of four frames.

The left-handed Renner put together a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fifth before Drew Weeks broke the game open with a three-run homer to center field against Lafayette lefty Michael Massa to put North Florida ahead 5-1. Following a leadoff single to Thomas Dunleavy to begin the sixth, Renner retired the next five Lafayette hitters before Ryan McMahon got Parker Hills to fly out to end the visitors half of the seventh. Renner was charged with one run on two hits in 6.2 innings and struck out seven, while issuing two walks. McMahon was perfect in his 1.1 innings of work before Spencer Herrmann hurled a scoreless ninth.

Massa gave up just two more hits, both singles, after Weeks’ long ball and tossed 7.2 innings in the loss. The senior was charged with seven runs, six earned, on eight hits and walked two. Robert Tatum got the final out of the afternoon after coming in to a bases-loaded situation and walking the first batter he faced. A wild pitch allowed another run as North Florida piled on two more in the eighth to run the final to 7-1.

Lafayette returns to the diamond on Tuesday when it travels to Staten Island, N.Y. to play Wagner. First pitch from Richmond County Bank Ballpark is set for 3:30 p.m.