Florida Sports Wires

  JACKSONVILLE ( www.sportsdayjax.com )-   The fourth head coach in UNF baseball's 36-year history is announced as Joe Mercadante is tabbed to lead the program as made official by Director of Athletics Nick Morrow. A meet and greet will be held in July at a date to be finalized, with it also being streamed on North Florida Ospreys on Facebook.  "As we went along the hiring process it became evident that Joe Mercadante would be a great fit for UNF and UNF baseball," Director of Athletics Nick Morrow said. "He has a positive reputation throughout the baseball community for his relentless recruiting efforts, the development of his student-athletes and being a coach of high character. Joe is a Florida native and is well connected throughout the state, allowing him to step in and make an immediate impact on the program. We are thrilled to welcome Joe and his family back to their home state and to the University of North Florida." "It is time for alumni, fans and...

JACKSONVILLE ( www.sportsdayjax.com ) - UNF baseball took a brief lead in the first inning on an Alex Lodise RBI double, but the FGCU (37-14, 19-8 ASUN) bats found their groove in the series finale as the Ospreys (28-24, 13-14 ASUN) had their season-best six-game winning streak snapped in the home finale on Mother's Day Sunday, May 14.  Despite the loss, UNF took the series from one of the top hitting teams in the country, securing its seventh of nine home series this year.  The Ospreys closed out the home slate 20-13 in games at Harmon Stadium, with three road contests remaining at JU beginning Thursday.  UNF is currently just one game back of the eighth-place slot in the league, a position that features a four-way tie between Jacksonville, Eastern Kentucky, Liberty and Austin Peay.  The top eight teams earn a spot in the ASUN Championship set for DeLand later this month. North Florida finishes up the regular season with the River City Rumble beginning Thursday at 7...

By MIKE BONTS Jacksonville SportsDay Jacksonville University dropped their opening Atlantic Sun Conference men's basketball game of the season Saturday night losing the first round of the River City Rumble 83-68 to North Florida. The Ospreys (12-6, 1-0) were led by senior Demarcus Daniels who matched a career high with 22 points, while also pulling down 10 rebounds.  Chris Davenport also tallied a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds. UNF also got double digit performances from Dallas Moore (13), Nick Malonga (13) and Aaron Bodager (11).  "We guarded extremely well tonight," said head coach Matthew Driscoll. "I felt like our preparation was the difference in the game. We had some great practices earlier this week and the guys executed our game plan." The Dolphins (8-9, 0-1) saw a game-high 30 points from Kori Babineaux. Babineaux was 13 of 29 from the floor while collecting seven rebounds. Darius Dawkins had 17 points, hitting 4-9 treys, and Marc...

JACKSONVILLE -- The North Florida basketball team opens up a season-long four game home stand Saturday as the Ospreys welcome Coastal Georgia to UNF Arena at 7 p.m. The Ospreys return to the hardwood following a week off from competition for fall semester exams. UNF enters the game at 6-4 and looking to snap a two-game losing skid after dropping games at LSU and Dayton last week. North Florida is carrying a 10-game win streak at home into the contest. Junior Dallas Moore leads a group of five players in double digits averaging an Atlantic Sun leading 20.8 points per game this season. Senior Beau Beech averages 16.4 points per game and is coming off a week where he averaged making 5.7 three-pointers per game. Other double-digit scorers for UNF include seniors Trent Mackey (12.7), and Demarcus Daniels (11.4) along with junior Chris Davenport (11.3). Coastal Georgia enters the contest at 4-7 after losing their last five games including an 89-87 loss to Edward Waters in their last...

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The North Florida basketball team struggled offensively in a tough 70-57 loss to Saint Louis on Tuesday night in Chaifetz Arena. The Ospreys (3-2) dropped their second consecutive game after shooting a season low 36 percent from the floor including making just 5 of 20 three-point attempts (25 percent). The Billikens (4-0) also earned a 46-28 advantage in rebounding that resulted in 15 second chance points, while also tallying 21 points off of 14 UNF miscues. Junior Dallas Moore led the way for UNF nearly posting a triple-double after finishing with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Senior Beau Beech added 11 points as the only other Osprey in double figures.  Ash Yacoubou paced the Billikens with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Saint Louis connected on eight three-pointers in the game after netting just 10 in their previous three games combined. "I thought we did a good job of getting shots we just had some guys uncharacteristically miss some they nor...

BRASELTON, GA. - No. 26-ranked North Florida survived the marathon Tuesday at the 2015 Atlantic Sun Men's Golf Championship to take home the program's fourth conference title and third in the last four years. UNF junior Austin Padova birdied No. 18 to capture the medalist honors at three-under par, 207, one stroke ahead of Kennesaw State's Jimmy Beck and Lipscomb's Dawson Armstrong. Taylor Hancock joined Padova in the top-five to earn All-Tournament honors as the junior from Clearwater, Fla. fired rounds of 70-68 in the final 36 holes to earn fourth place.  As a team, North Florida finished the 54-hole event at the Legends Course of Chateau Elan with a total of 849 including registering a final round 277 to set the program's A-Sun Championship 18-hole record. "Great day for the guys and we battled until the very end," said UNF head coach Scott Schroeder. "We gave away a bunch of shots over the first 40 holes or so but then were able to fini...