Saturday, April 14, 2012

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Managing only four hits all day and two base runners after the third inning, the Lipscomb baseball team fell 6-0 to homestanding North Florida in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Harmon Stadium in Jacksonville.

North Florida (22-16, 5-9 A-Sun) starter Kyle Westwood (4-3) kept the Bisons (17-18, 9-5 A-Sun) offense off balance all day en route to the complete-game shutout.  After allowing two hits in the first, the right-hander allowed only two more hits and one other base runner the rest of the way.  Westwood fanned 11 Lipscomb batters on the afternoon without issuing a single walk.

Lipscomb junior southpaw Blake Fonfara (2-4) matched Westwood pitch-for-pitch and carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning when a walk and an infield single got things going for the Ospreys.  A single back up the middle got UNF on the board before Fonfara could get out of the inning.

North Florida went on to add a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth innings along with a single tally in the seventh to put the game out of reach.

Fonfara took the loss going four and two-thirds innings giving up three earned runs, five hits and one walk.  The junior also notched six strikeouts.

Lee Wilson, Zak Messer, Tyson Ashcraft and Logan Hostettler each had a hit for LU.

The Bisons and Ospreys will conclude the three-game series on Sunday afternoon with a rubber game at Noon.