North Florida at Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Interstat) — A tightly contested ASUN Conference series continues Saturday when the Jacksonville Dolphins host the North Florida Ospreys at John Sessions Stadium.
First pitch is set for a clear, 82-degree afternoon with both teams sitting at near-identical records. North Florida (13-12) holds a slight edge over Jacksonville (12-13) in the standings. The intrastate rivals opened their three-game set Friday.
The Ospreys enter having won three of their last four, including a three-game sweep of Florida Gulf Coast last weekend. Relief pitcher Devin Diggs has been a key factor, posting a 0.00 ERA in four of his last six appearances. In Sunday’s series-clinching 6-4 win over FGCU, Diggs threw three scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Jacksonville snapped a three-game skid with a 4-3 midweek victory over Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday. Dolphins reliever Dominic Pieto earned the win in that game, throwing two scoreless innings. He has been effective lately, allowing just one earned run over his last 6 1/3 innings pitched across four outings.
Despite Jacksonville’s recent home victory, statistical projections are split. Interstat’s game simulator predicts a 5-3 win for North Florida, while its ELO rating system gives Jacksonville a 58% probability of victory.
The series concludes Sunday at John Sessions Stadium.