Florida Sports Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -  Carolina RailHawks four first-half goals propelled them to a 4-0 victory Saturday night, spoiling the Armada's first-ever sell-out at Community First Park (8,573 fans), snapping their perfect home record and ending their slim hopes of a North American Soccer League Spring Season title. Now, their path to the league playoffs hinges on either winning the Fall Season or finishing with one of the top-two best overall records among the rest of the field. But that seems a long way off now. With two games remaining before the summer break - including one against the likely Spring Season Champions New York Cosmos - the focus is just to stop leaking goals after consecutive losses of 3-2, 3-0 and 4-0. Against Carolina, three of those goals came in an eight-minute stretch near the end of the first half, when the Armada were pushing ahead for an equalizer. "When we started losing 1-0 we went into a little bit of a desperate mode trying to recover," said

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --   The Jacksonville Armada FC will return home tonight after a long road swing to host the Carolina RailHawks at 7:30 p.m. ET at Community First Park at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. The match will be presented by Brumos Automotive. The Armada FC, currently fourth in the NASL Spring Standings and still alive in the race, should be happy to return to Jacksonville, a place they have not lost in the regular season with wins over FC Edmonton, 2014 NASL Champions San Antonio Scorpions and Indy Eleven. It is Jacksonville's first home match since May 9. The RailHawks, currently fifth in the NASL Spring Standings, are playing their second-straight league match in Florida after a 1-0 win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers last Saturday at Lockhart Stadium.

ORLANDO, Fla. - - The Orlando Magic have named Scott Skiles head coach, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.  Skiles becomes the 12th head coach in franchise history. Skiles, 51, has an overall NBA regular season record of 443-433 (.506) as head coach with Phoenix, Chicago and Milwaukee.  During his 13 seasons as a head coach, his teams have reached the NBA Playoffs six times. “Scott (Skiles) clearly distinguished himself as a tremendous fit,” said Hennigan. “Our young roster will benefit greatly from Scott’s extensive head coaching experience and commitment to teaching smart, physical, unselfish basketball. We believe in Scott’s ability to establish a culture of winning habits and accountability that will help guide our team in a positive direction.” “As we began our search, our internal discussions centered on finding a head coach with a solid resume of NBA head coaching experience, great  leadership qualities, a motivating communication style,  and someone with a stro

RICHMOND, Va.   - Despite facing opportune moments to take control of their match on Wednesday night, the Jacksonville Armada FC had a tough time overcoming the stingy defense of the Richmond Kickers and fell 3-0 in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Richmond City Stadium. In its inaugural U.S. Open Cup competition, Jacksonville seemingly got off to a strong start as it held the possession advantage early. But the Armada FC soon ran into what could be described as a brick wall for the Kickers, holding Jacksonville to zero shots on goal in the first half. Richmond converted its strong defensive showing into offensive output and benefitted from three key mistakes by the Armada FC. After a tussle with Armada FC defender Shawn Nicklaw deep in Jacksonville's corner, Richmond's Owusu Sekyere earned a corner kick and launched it to Brian Ownby, who smashed it home in the 20th minute. In the 38th minute, Kickers forward Jason Yeisley lifted a pass at midfield and

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Jacksonville Suns (18-27) topped the Birmingham Barons (21-25) 8-2 in the 20th annual Rickwood Classic Wednesday afternoon from Rickwood Field. Suns starter Kendry Flores (W, 3-3) earned the victory tossing six innings allowing two runs (all earned) on four hits while walking two and striking out three. Myles Jaye (L, 2-3) generated four and two-thirds frames surrendering five runs (three earned) on seven hits while walking one and striking out a solo batter in his start for the Barons. The scoring would begin in the top of the second, after a two-out single by David Adams set the table for Terrance Dayleg’s RBI double leaping the Suns out to a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the third the Barons tied the score at one. Adrian Nieto blasted a lead off double, and subsequently moved to third after a wild pitch from Flores. Next batter Jeremy Farrell, cashed in with a RBI sacrifice fly to knot the score through three innings at Rickwood Field. In the first of th

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The NCAA Division I Baseball Committee announced 16 regional sites for the 69th annual NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. Florida State University was selected as a regional host for the 32nd time in school history. The four-team regional will begin on Friday, May 29 on Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium. The 16 regional sites, with host institutions and records are as follows: Baton Rouge, Louisiana - LSU (48-10); Champaign, Illinois – Illinois (47-8-1); College Station, Texas – Texas A&M (45-11); Coral Gables, Florida – Miami (Fla.) (44-14); Dallas, Texas – Dallas Baptist (43-13); Fort Worth, Texas – TCU (43-11); Fullerton, California – Cal State Fullerton (34-22); Gainesville, Florida – Florida (43-16); Houston, Texas – Houston (42-18); Lake Elsinore, California – UC Santa Barbara (40-15-1); Los Angeles, California – UCLA (42-14); Louisville, Kentucky - Louisville (43-16); Nashville, Tennessee - Vanderbilt (42-18); Springfield, Missouri – Missour

HOOVER, Ala. – Freshman Mike Rivera snapped a 1-1 tie with a leadoff homer in the ninth inning as fourth-seeded Florida (43-16) defeated top-seeded and top-ranked LSU (48-11), 2-1, on Saturday afternoon in the second semifinal of the 2015 SEC Tournament.  In halting the Tigers’ 13-game SEC Tournament winning streak, the Gators will face second-seeded Vanderbilt (42-18) tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2 seeking their seventh SEC Tournament crown. After Florida tied the game at a run apiece in the eighth on an RBI double by freshman JJ Schwarz (2-for-4) that scored senior Josh Tobias, junior right-hander Taylor Lewis (6-1) came through with a shutdown inning. Rivera stepped to the plate in the ninth and launched a 1-2 offering from sophomore righty Jesse Stallings (1-2) to left field for his third round-tripper of the season. Lewis went back out for the home part of the inning and set down the Tigers 1-2-3 to complete a 4.1-inning stint in which he permitted one hit and zero runs to th

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (May 22, 2015) - José Luis Villarreal, who was named as the first coach of the Jacksonville Armada FC in June 2014, and has served as co-head coach for the team since January, will leave the Armada at the end of the current North American Soccer League spring season for family reasons, and to pursue a number of other coaching opportunities in his home country of Argentina. Guillermo Hoyos will assume full head coaching responsibilities for the Armada FC going forward. Armada FC General Manager, Dario Sala, commented on the amicable, and mutually-agreed departure, saying: "José's work in establishing our first roster and preparing our team alongside Guillermo to get ready for the inaugural season in the NASL was greatly appreciated and instrumental to our early success. This was a very difficult decision for Jose to make, but has been made in his, and his family's best interests. We want to thank José for everything he has done for the Armada, and wis

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Suns (15-25) used a three-run ninth inning rally to tie the score but fell short in extras to the Mississippi Braves (22-18) 8-7 Thursday night from Bragan Field. Francisco Rondon (W, 2-0) earned the victory in relief for Mississippi in one inning of work allowing three runs (none earned) on two hits while walking a batter and striking out one. Sean Donatello (L, 0-2) took the loss out of the bullpen for the Suns generating two innings allowing five runs (three earned) on five hits while walking a pair of batters. The scoring would begin in the bottom of the first when the Suns had runners on the corners with nobody out courtesy of a Carlos Lopez lead off double, and Kenny Wilson reaching on an error by the first baseman Kevin Aherns. Next batter Austin Nola, would scratch across the first run on a double play ball giving Jacksonville a 1-0 lead through one frame. In the third the Braves tied the score after Mallex Smith worked a two-out wal

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Jacksonville Suns (15-24) had a comeback effort fall short in a 7-6 loss to the Biloxi Shuckers (24-16) Tuesday night from Joe Davis Stadium. Jaye Chapman (W, 3-2) (BS, 1) while allowing a game tying grand slam to Ryan Rieger, earned the win tossing 1 and 1/3 innings surrendering one earned run on one hit while walking a batter and striking a solo man. Lay Batista (L, 0-1) took the loss in relief for Jacksonville, working in a pair of innings allowing one earned run on two hits, including the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth while walking two and not striking out a batter. The scoring would begin in the bottom of the first when Biloxi put up a four spot in the frame. First a Nick Ramirez sac fly earned the Shuckers a 1-0 lead. Next batter Michael Reed, then followed that up with a two run double to left field to push the Suns deficit to 3-0. To finish the scoring Brandon Macias provided a RBI base knock to score Reed and set the tally at 4-0. In the last

JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville Sharks defense stood tall on Saturday night, forcing several key stops throughout the course of the game, including a turnover on downs in the final minute to seal a 55-47 victory over the Philadelphia Soul on Sea Best Field at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. Jacksonville (3-5) led by a 45-40 count when quarterback Tommy Grady fired a 28-yard touchdown strike to an open Prechae Rodriguez, putting the Sharks up by two scores. But Philadelphia (7-1) answered in just three plays, as Dan Raudabaugh connected with Shaun Kauleinamoku for a 25-yard touchdown with 1:26 left in the game. Nursing a five-point lead, the Sharks got a big boost courtesy of Joe Hills, who high-pointed Philadelphia’s ensuing onside kick, making a recovery that gave Jacksonville the ball with 58 seconds left. But on the ensuing drive, Tommy Grady took a big loss on a sack, bringing the ball back to midfield for a third and 23 situation. After an incompletion, Julian Rauch

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Suns (14-19) dropped the series decider to the Penascola Blue Wahoos (14-20) 5-2 Thursday night from Bragan Field. Daniel Wright (W, 1-4) worked six frames surrendering two runs (one earned) while walking a pair of batters and fanning five. Suns starter Chipper Smith (L, 2-1) lasted six innings allowing three earned runs on seven hits while walking a batter and striking out two. Kyle McMyne (S, 1) nailed down his first save of the year for Pensacola after tossing two scoreless innings allowing one hit while striking out two. The scoring would begin in the bottom of the first when David Adams lined a RBI single to center sending home Kenny Wilson who lead off the frame with a double. A throwing error by Wahoos shortstop Zach Vincej, after a Ryan Rieger groundball, brought in Zack Cox to double up the Suns lead to 2-0 through one inning. In the second frame Kyle Waldrop (HR, 5) blasted a solo home run, his second in as many days, to trim the S

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Suns (14-18) were downed by the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (13-20) 5-1 in Wednesday afternoon’s contest from Bragan Field. Robert Stephenson (W, 1-4) worked five innings allowing one unearned run on two hits while walking four and striking out four in his start for Pensacola. Suns starter Trevor Williams (L, 0-5) manufactured four innings surrendering five earned runs on eight hits while walking a batter and striking out three. The scoring would begin for Pensacola in the top of the first when Ryan Wright’s one-out double set the table for Kyle Waldrop’s RBI single providing the Wahoos with 1-0 lead. A few batters later, former Sun Kyle Skipworth, laced a two-run double off the right centerfield wall leaping the Wahoos to a 3-0 advantage. Moving to the top of the third, Ryan Wright would lead off the frame with a double, to then be driven in two batters later by Waldrop’s (HR, 4) two-run blast giving Pensacola a 5-0 lead. The Suns got on the bo

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Suns (14-17) were shutout in a 5-0 loss at the hands of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (12-20) Tuesday night from Bragan Field. Tim Adleman (W, 1-3) lasted six scoreless innings allowing six hits while walking a batter and striking out two in his first win of the year for Pensacola. Suns starter Jake Esch (L, 3-2) tossed seven frames surrendering four earned runs on four hits while walking three and fanning four batters. The scoring would begin in the top of the first, when Kyle Waldrop blasted a two-run triple into the right centerfield gap that drove home Beau Amaral and Jesse Winker to give the Wahoos a 2-0 lead. Next batter, Seth Mejias-Brean followed it up with a RBI groundout that extended the lead to 3-0 through one inning of play. Flashing ahead to the sixth inning, Pensacola added a solo run on a sac fly from Mejias-Brean that scratched across Jesse Winker, extending the Wahoos scoreboard advantage to 4-0 through six frames at Bragan Fie

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Rickie Fowler's second birdie in a playoff at the island green 17th Sunday gave him the title at The Players Championship. Fowler, who was recently voted by his peers as one of the most overrated players on tour, played the final six holes of regulation in 6-under par to close out a 5-under 67. That run got him in the clubhouse first at 12-under- par 276. Sergio Garcia (68) and Kevin Kisner (69) birdied the 16th and 17th to join Fowler at minus-12. The trio returned to the 16th tee on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass for a three-hole aggregate playoff. All three missed the fairway at the par-5 and laid up with their second shots. After reaching the green in three, they all 2-putted for par. The group shifted to the 17th, where all three players hit the green with their tee shots. Garcia putted from a similar spot than he did in regulation, but missed left. Kisner drained his birdie chance from just inside 10 feet, then Fowler answered from jus

CLEVELAND -- Facing the defending American Conference champions on Saturday night, the Jacksonville Sharks ( 2-5  OVERALL, 1-4   CONFERENCE)  forced four turnovers, built a three-score lead in the third quarter and withstood a late rally en route to a 46-43 victory over the Cleveland Gladiators at Quicken Loans Arena. On offense, QB Tommy Grady completed 20 of his 31 pass attempts, throwing for a total of 191 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. Ross set season highs with 13 carries for 54 yards, and in the process became the first player in AFL history to notch 2,500 career rushing yards.  At receiver, Rodriguez caught eight passes for 75 yards and two scores, Joe Hills led the team with 10 receptions for 92 yards and added a touchdown, while Jones totaled two reception for 24 yards and a score. Defensively, Smith led all players with 10 total tackles, while Xavier Brewer notched four solo tackles, broke up a pass and forced a fumble.  Up front Sykes extended hi

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- An hour after the Jacksonville Armada FC's 1-0 win over Indy Eleven, the grounds crew peeled back the two-week-old sod that covered the infield of a baseball diamond, officially signifying the end of the club's first homestand. And you couldn't call it anything other than a resounding success. For the second week in a row, the Armada FC played and won in front of more than 8,000 fans at Community First Park, this time thanks to a headed goal by midfielder Bochy Hoyos in the 50th minute that gave the team its first win streak and put an end to Indy's nine-game unbeaten run that stretched back to last season. After two losses on the road, these two wins have been an immense confidence boost, and the North American Soccer League's newest team now stands in second place (3W-0D-2L, nine points). "The first few games we felt maybe a little unlucky, but they say you make your own luck," said defender Matt Bahner, who assisted on Hoy

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- No. 3 overall draft pick Dante Fowler, Jr. tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the first day of practice at the Jacksonville Jaguars rookie minicamp. The Jaguars confirmed the severity of the injury, which was initially reported by ESPN, on Friday. Fowler will undergo surgery in the coming weeks and is expected to miss the entire 2015 season. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive end went down during a drill when his left leg buckled as he rushed the passer. He was helped off the field by trainers. Fowler was drafted third overall last week after racking up 14 1/2 sacks in three seasons at Florida. Dolphins sign entire draft class The Miami Dolphins have signed wide receiver DeVante Parker, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, offensive lineman Jamil Douglas, cornerback Bobby McCain, running back Jay Ajayi, safety Cedric Thompson and cornerback Tony Lippett. Parker, the 14th overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Louisville,

The Jacksonville University women’s lacrosse team heads to the University of Maryland campus, where they will take on UMass in the opening round of the NCAA tournament at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex at 4 p.m. on Friday. The Dolphins earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year after defeating Detroit, 15-5 in the Atlantic Sun tournament. Along with the win, Jacksonville landed five players on the All-Tournament Team, including Kristin Ridenour, Ashtyn Hiron, Asia Moore, Danielle Della Rocca and Brittney Orashen who was named tournament MVP.  The team leads the nation in ground balls with 24.58 a contest and a scoring margin at +8.95, The Dolphins rank third with 10.26 caused turnovers per game and second averaging 8.0 assists a contest.  Jacksonville is fourth in the country in draw controls with 15.47. Danielle Della Rocca ranks ninth in points, while Asia Moore has a country-wide eighth best goals against average. The Dolphins have only a

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida has hired Michael White as head men’s basketball coach, director of athletics Jeremy Foley announced on Thursday. White, the 2014-15 Conference USA Coach of the Year, comes to the Gators after leading Louisiana Tech to a 101-40 record (.716) over the past four seasons, including three straight conference championships. Born in Dunedin, Fla., White brings a wealth of SEC experience to the Gators, as a four-year starter at Ole Miss and later an assistant coach for seven seasons under two different head coaches on the Rebels’ bench. “I have an incredible amount of respect for the University of Florida, and I am so excited to be a Gator,” White said. “Not only is Florida home for me, but the tradition and success that the Gators have built make this an incredible opportunity. I know about the great home court advantage in the O’Connell Center, which is a testament to the fans and the Rowdy Reptiles. There’s an unbelievable commitment to ex

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Former Jacksonville University standouts Andrew Robustelli and Schon Thomas are off to begin the next stage of their football careers this weekend. Both Robustelli and Thomas have been invited to attend NFL rookie camps this weekend with Robustelli heading to the New York Giants May 8-9 and Thomas off to the Denver Broncos May 8-10. A wideout from Sarasota, Fla., Robustelli was a First Team All-Pioneer Football League selection each of the past two years. In 2014 he caught 39 passes for 660 yards and nine touchdowns. Robustelli first caught attention from scouts following a stellar junior campaign in which he was named to several all-american teams. Over the course of the breakout year he had 51 receptions for a school record 1,063 yards (20.8 yards per catch) and 11 receiving touchdowns. This past December he was named his team's Most Valuable Player at the FCS National Bowl. Thomas, a defensive back from Fort Myers, Fla., was named honorable mention All-

MACON, Ga. - Strong performances by Courtney Walker and Shanique Walker at the UCF helped Jacksonville sweep this week's Atlantic Sun Women's Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week awards, announced Wednesday by the conference office.  Shanique posted top performances at the UCF Twilight last Thursday in Orlando, Fla. In the 400-meter hurdles, Shanique took first place with a time of 58.55 and now ranks 22nd in the East Region and is best in the A-Sun.  The San Jose, Calif. native also placed third in the 100-meter hurdles, but was the top collegiate finisher for the event at 13.34. Despite missing her season-best by .03 seconds, Shanique still sits 16th in the East Region for the 100-meter hurdles. Shanique added a win in the 4x400 relay for Jacksonville with a time of 3:39.77. Courtney joined Shanique on the winning 4x400 relay team that recorded an A-Sun best time at UCF. In addition to the relay, she took part in the long jump and 200-meter events at the UCF Twil

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. --  The women’s team from Indian River/Manatee/St. Lucie counties (Stuart, Fla.) won the 3.5 level for the second year in a row, and squads from Broward (Weston),  Duval (Orange Park) and  Sarasota (City of Sarasota) counties were also winners over the weekend at the 2015 USTA Florida Adult 55 & Over 3.5/4.5 League  Sectional Championships, held May 1-3 at the Florida Tennis Center in Daytona Beach. The Marion County men (Hernando) at the 3.5 level came within a match of repeating as state champions, losing in the final to Duval County. The Broward women won the 4.5 level over Duval County (Jacksonville), and the Sarasota men stopped Pinellas County (St. Petersburg) in the men’s 4.5 final. Teams consisting of three doubles lines competed in a non-elimination round-robin format. The winner of each flight/level was determined by team matches won, and for levels with multiple flights the winner of each flight advanced into a single-elimination semifinal

NEW YORK (May 4, 2015) - Jacksonville Armada FC forward Alhassane Keita has been named North American Soccer League (NASL) Player of the Week after scoring a dramatic game-winner in the team's 2-1 win over the San Antonio Scorpions at Community First Park on Saturday night. Deep into second-half stoppage time, the Guinea international ran onto a pass from teammate Akeil Barrett and fired a perfectly placed shot into the far corner to send the 8,147 fans into a frenzy in Jacksonville. "It was a very exciting moment to score that goal," Keita said. "Our team has been training hard, and it was amazing to see it pay off in that fashion. I am honored to win this award, but it is really a great testament to the hard work of my teammates." Keita's second goal of the year helped the Armada snap a two-game losing streak and move into the top half of the NASL Spring Season standings. Jacksonville has now won both of its home games this year, and Keita has found

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Jacksonville Suns (10-13) would fall victim to a 14-13 walk-off defeat at the hands of the Chattanooga Lookouts (12-11) thanks to Levi Michael’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth Sunday afternoon from AT&T Field. Nick Burdi (W, 2-3) earned the victory for Chattanooga out of the bullpen although he would allow go-ahead run in the ninth. Sean Donatello (L, 0-1) (BS, 1) tried to nail down the save in the bottom of the ninth, but instead allowed the game-winning single to Levi Michael. Donatello would surrender two earned runs on three hits while walking two and not striking out a batter. The Suns would get on the board first after David Adams ripped a RBI single to right field bringing home Viosergy Rosa to leap his squad in front 1-0 in the top of the second. In the third Kenny Wilson (HR, 2) would push Jacksonville out to a 2-0 lead courtesy of his solo home run to center. The Suns were not done, tacking on one more run after Adams lined his secon

TAMPA, Fla. - Jacksonville gave up three touchdowns in the final 2:02 of the first half on Saturday night, and could not recover from that Tampa Bay Storm surge, as the Sharks fell by a 63-28 count at Amalie Arena. The complexion of the game turned in the final minutes of the second quarter, following a touchdown pass from Tommy Grady to Joe Hills that put Jacksonville (1-5) ahead, 14-7.  On the second play of the ensuing Tampa Bay (3-3) drive, T.T. Toliver got behind the Jacksonville defense, pulling in a 38-yard pass from Jason Boltus to tie the game at 14 with just over two minutes remaining in the half.  The Sharks were unable to handle the ensuing kickoff, as the Storm’s Rick-J Hill recovered the loose ball in the end zone, giving Tampa Bay a 21-14 lead. At that point, the Sharks still had a chance to stay in the game, as the offense had nearly a minute to work with before halftime and was set to get the ball to open the third quarter.  But with 30 seconds remaining in