North Florida Baseball secured a 15-4 win over Florida A&M in a midweek game at Moore-Kittles Field on Wednesday. The Ospreys collected 10 hits and did not commit any errors during the game, marking their first midweek victory of the season.
Junior infielder Mathew Farner hit a home run for the fourth consecutive game, tying him for the most home runs in Division I baseball at that time. Farner finished with one hit in three at-bats, three RBI, and two runs scored.
The Ospreys started strong with a three-run first inning. Redshirt junior Jackson Toberman drove in the first run with a single to left field. Boone Hosey scored on a wild pitch, giving North Florida an early 3-0 lead heading into the second inning.
Florida A&M answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the first inning.
Junior right-handed pitcher Zane Starling entered as a reliever during the first inning. He pitched 4.2 innings, allowing just one run and recording four strikeouts. Toberman added to his performance with a two-RBI double in the second inning to put North Florida ahead again, 5-3.
In the third inning, Farner hit a three-run homer to extend North Florida’s lead to 10-4. Later in that frame, redshirt freshman Sean Benjamin doubled for his fifth time this season, increasing UNF’s advantage by seven runs. Senior catcher Santiago Ordonez and freshman infielder Jonathan Acosta each contributed sacrifice flies as part of North Florida’s seven-run third inning.
Benjamin later brought home two more runs with a single to left field in the sixth inning, making it 15-4. Freshman right-handed pitcher Jeremiah Stewart closed out the game by pitching two scoreless innings and earning his first career strikeout.
The final line scores were: UNF with 15 runs on 10 hits and no errors; FAMU with four runs on eight hits and two errors.
Zane Starling was credited with the win (1-0), while Ricardo Roman took the loss (0-1).
Statistical leaders for North Florida included Mitchell Collins (two hits, four runs), Mathew Farner (three RBI), Sean Benjamin (three RBI), Jackson Toberman (three RBI), and Zane Starling (four strikeouts). For FAMU, Jay Campbell went two-for-two with two RBI and one run scored.
North Florida will return home for a three-game series against Quinnipiac from February 20–22 at Harmon Stadium. The series opens Friday at 6:05 p.m.
