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NEWARK, NJ—North Florida began its three-game Atlantic Sun Conference baseball series at NJIT with a 6-0 victory over the Highlanders Thursday night at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
 
The Ospreys (35-17 overall; 13-6 Atlantic Sun) broke a scoreless tie with one run in the top of the third inning and then added two runs each in the fourth and fifth innings before capping the scoring with a run in the ninth inning vs. NJIT (17-34 overall; 2-16 Atlantic Sun).
 
The series at NJIT is the last regular season set for North Florida, which will continue playing in the six-team A-Sun Championship Tournament, hosted in Nashville by defending champion Lipscomb from May 25 to May 28.
 
Having been mathematically eliminated from consideration for postseason play in its first season as a member of the powerful Atlantic Sun Conference, NJIT will end the 2016 season with this home series vs. North Florida.
 
Schedule note: Because of the forecast of rain on Saturday, the schedule has been changed so that the teams will play a doubleheader on Friday, starting at 1 pm. NJIT will honor its two seniors, Ian Bentley and Stephan Halibej, in Senior Day ceremonies between games of the doubleheader.
 
Notice to fans attending Friday's games: Special parking is available in the municipal garage located at 22-36 Bridge Street (the garage is visible beyond the right field fence of Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium). This parking is available in response to the spaces lost on Division Street between McCarter Highway and Broad Street due to the presence of the circus in the nearby lot on Broad Street.
 
North Florida did not score in the first two innings, but left three men on base in the opening two frames. Starting the second time through the batting order, the Ospreys got a break when leadoff batter SS Kyle Brooks opened the third inning by reaching first on a throwing error by his NJIT counterpart Justin Etts.
 
Etts made a nice backhand pickup on the hard-hit ball up the middle by Brooks, but the throw across the diamond bounced and Highlander 1B Bryan Haberstroh couldn't scoop it cleanly. Brooks advanced on a sacrifice bunt and then scored an unearned run on a single by senior C Keith Skinner (2-for-5), the only New Jersey product on the Ospreys, who have one player from Georgia, one from Canada, and 34 from baseball-rich Florida.
 
UNF added two more runs in the fourth inning on RBI singles by Brooks (1-for-4) and LF Dakota Higdon (2-for-4). The visitors tacked on another pair in the fifth with one scoring on a single by 3B Alex Merritt (1-for-4) and another scoring on a double-steal play, with Merritt swiping home on the play.
 
The Ospreys scored their last run on an NJIT wild pitch in the top of the ninth inning.
 
Chris Berry, UNF's freshman first baseman, had the only extra-base hit in the game for either team when he tripled with two outs in the top of the seventh. He finished 3-for-4 at the plate and scored one run.
 
NJIT did next-to-nothing against the North Florida starter and winning pitcher, RHP Bryan Baker (4-5), who allowed just one hit and two walks in pitching the first five innings.
 
The Highlanders got four of their five hits in the game off of reliever Tyler DuPont, a redshirt junior right-hander.
 
NJIT got three hits in the ninth inning, but left the bases loaded when the third Osprey pitcher, redshirt junior right-hander Matt Naylor, ended the game with two strikeouts.
 
The losing pitcher for the Highlanders was the starter, sophomore RHP Sean Lubreski (4-9), who was charged with eight hits and five runs (four earned) in five innings. Lefty Chris Gibbons had one of the better outings of his freshman season, holding North Florida to a single unearned run over the last four innings.
 
At the plate, the Highlanders generated six singles, paced by 2-for-4 from freshman 3B Tom Brady. CF Jesse Uttendorfer, who singled with one out in the opening inning, had the only NJIT hit against North Florida's Baker.