JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – North Florida Baseball tallied 10 hits without committing an error in the field to earn a run-rule road victory over Florida A&M, 15-4, in its first midweek win of the season at Moore-Kittles Field on Wednesday.

Junior infielder Matheew Farner belted a home run for the fourth-straight game which at the time, tied the lead for the most home runs in Division I baseball. Farner went 1-3 with three RBI and two runs against FAMU.

The Ospreys got the scoring started with a three-run first inning. Redshirt junior Jackson Toberman notched the first RBI with a single to left. Redshirt junior utility player Boone Hosey scored on a wild pitch to put North Florida ahead, 3-0, headed to the second frame.

Florida A&M responded with three runs in the bottom half of the first inning.

Junior right-handed pitcher Zane Starling entered in relief in the first. Starling went 4.2 innings and tallied four strikeouts while allowing just one run. Toberman produced again in the second inning with a two-RBI double to put North Florida back ahead, 5-3.

In the third frame, Farner broke the game open, 10-4, with his three-run homer. Redshirt freshman infielder Sean Benjamin notched his fifth double of the season later in the inning to put UNF up by seven. Senior catcher Santiago Ordonez and freshman infielder Jonathan Acosta helped extend the lead to 13-4 with a pair of sacrifice flies, capping off North Florida’s seven-run third frame.

Benjamin notched the Ospreys’ 15th run of the game with an RBI single to left in the sixth. Freshman right-handed pitcher Jermiah Stewart dealt two scoreless innings in the last two innings and posted his first-career strikeout to cap off UNF’s run-rule win.


UNF 15, FAMU 4

Pitchers of Record

Win: Zane Starling (1-0)

Loss: Ricardo Roman (0-1)

Line Scores

UNF | 15 R, 10 H, 0 E

FAMU | 4 R, 8 H, 2 E

Statistical Leaders

UNF

Mitchell Collins | 2-3, 4 R, 3 BB

Mathew Farner | 1-3, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB

Sean Benjamin | 2-4, 3 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB

Jackson Toberman | 2-4, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB

Zane Starling | 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 68 pitches

FAMU

Jay Campbell | 2-2, 2 RBI, 1 R

UP NEXT

North Florida returns to Harmon Stadium for a three-game weekend series from Feb. 20-22 against Quinnipiac. First pitch on Friday is slated for 6:05 p.m.