TheUniversity of North Floridagot another standout pitching performance from sophomore Taylor Cook and junior center fielder Kalyn McCarthy went 3 for 3 as the seventh-seeded Ospreys became the first team to win twice in theASUN Softball Tournamentwith a 4-1 victory over third-seeded North Alabama on May 6 at the UNF Softball Complex.
UNF (38-20) advanced to a winner’s bracket game at 2:30 p.m. on May 7 against No. 2-seeded Stetson (33-20), the conference’s leading offensive team in almost every category, who earned a double bye along with No. 1 seed Central Arkansas (34-18-1).
The Sugar Bears will playfourth-seeded Jacksonville(34-18), which beat No. 5 Florida Gulf Coast 6-2, at noon on May 7.
The Ospreys are the defending champions in the tournament, and coach Jeff Conrad said it will be a constant reminder until someone bumps them in the double-elimination format.
“We make it hard for them to forget about it,” Conrad said. “We bring it up a lot. We show them the trophy and remind them it's still in our room. We have experience on this roster, kids who have returned who know what it’s like to win this tournament, but we brought in kids that won tournaments in other leagues. They understand what it takes this time of year.”
UNF is a team with confidence on the rise
McCarthy, who played for the Ospreys on last year’s ASUN championship team, said confidence remains on the way up after a slow start to the conference schedule (UNF was 2-7 at one point, getting swept at Stetson), but counting the rest of the regular season and two tournament games, they’ve gone 11-6 since.
“We’re so good when we’re confident,” said McCarthy, the No. 9 hitter who is hitting .435 (10 for 23) in her last 12 games and has made one error all season. “We’re beating teams and we’re going to stay up there. We’re playing more as a team now.”
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McCarthy made seven putouts in center against the Lions and singled and scored in UNF’s three-run second that included a steal of home by Hallie Langford. The Ospreys got their first run in the first on Ayden Allen’s RBI single, scoring Addie Keef.
UNF also isn't beating itself. The Ospreys are playing error-free ball in their first two tournament games and the pitching staff has issued only four walks.
Taylor Cook turns in another gem
Cook (9-5) pitched a four-hit complete game and allowed only one walk. She gave up a homer in the fifth to North Alabama’s Bayleigh Rouse, but aside from that, no Lions’ runner reached third base.
Cook has allowed seven hits and three walks in 11.1 innings in the tournament, with six strikeouts. Her tournament ERA is 1.59.
Conrad said he came back with Cook after she threw 4.1 innings of middle relief in an 8-5 victory over Eastern Kentucky on May 5 because of her ability to change speeds and UNA being a team of aggressive swingers: The Lions were 1 of 12 when putting the ball in play ahead of the count and 1 of 4 when chasing the first pitch.
“She has command of her off-speed stuff and I felt like that was going to be a big factor in this game,” he said. “They put some big swings on the ball, pretty aggressive and I felt Taylor was out best option.”
That means Conrad can use No. 1 starter Cameron Ponich (15-4) against Central Arkansas on two days' rest, after two innings and only 32 pitches against EKU, with Macie Hunolt (6-7) in reserve.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union:Pitcher Taylor Cook, CF Kalyn McCarthy lead UNF over North Alabama
