Jacksonville at North Florida
JACKSONVILLE (Interstat) — Jackson Toberman’s walk-off single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted North Florida to a 5-4 victory over Jacksonville in an ASUN Conference game Friday night at John Sessions Stadium.
The Ospreys improved to 25-19, matching the Dolphins’ record. The win also gave North Florida a sweep of the season series after the Ospreys took three games at Jacksonville in late March.
Jacksonville struck first in the opening inning. Sammy Mummau walked, advanced to third on Rog Vergara’s single and scored when De Bermudez grounded into a double play.
North Florida answered in the bottom half. M. Collins walked, stole second and scored on Carter White’s sacrifice fly.
The Ospreys took the lead in the second. Jackson Toberman doubled and scored on S. Ordonez’s double down the left-field line. North Florida added a run in the fourth on White’s RBI single, then made it 4-1 in the fifth when Collins’ fielder’s choice scored Toberman.
Jacksonville’s pitching staff held North Florida scoreless over the next three innings. The Dolphins used four pitchers in relief after starter Alex Walsh. Grant Brooks, Kyle Hopper and Logan Hartman combined to keep the Ospreys off the board through the eighth.
The Dolphins mounted a three-run rally in the top of the ninth. Logan Baratta walked, and Con Spelman singled. After a sacrifice bunt by Abdiel Delgado, Bla Edmonds doubled to right field, scoring Baratta. Griffin Pomper, pinch-running for Spelman, scored on Cade Walter’s groundout. Mummau then doubled to left, driving in Edmonds and tying the game at 4-4.
North Florida answered in the bottom half against Jacksonville reliever Ayden Phillips. S. Benjamin doubled down the left-field line and was replaced by pinch-runner S. Alford. Toberman followed with a single up the middle, scoring Alford for the walk-off win.
Toberman finished with two doubles and a single. Mummau had a double and a walk for Jacksonville, which managed only four hits off four North Florida pitchers. The Ospreys collected 12 hits.
Dakota Stone started for North Florida but did not factor into the decision. Brandon Adams earned the win in relief. The loss went to Phillips.
The two teams meet again Saturday and Sunday to conclude the three-game series. Jacksonville next plays at Florida State on Tuesday. North Florida travels to Florida on Tuesday.
Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Jacksonville 8, North Florida 5. Interstat’s ELO system gave Jacksonville a 53.20 percent probability to win.