Monday, February 25, 2008

MACON, Ga. – College baseball opened with a bang in Jacksonville, Fla., as UNF and Jacksonville piled up impressive wins behind the efforts of the Ospreys’ Travis Martin and Dolphins’ Matt Dobbins who earned Atlantic Sun Conference weekly honors as announced by the league office.

Martin began the season on fire and helped lead the Ospreys to their biggest series win in program history, taking two of three games from No. 23 Mississippi State over the weekend. Martin went 3-for-3 with three RBI and a double in UNF's 17-9 shellacking of the Bulldogs on Saturday. The Jacksonville native also reached base in every plate appearance. On Sunday, Martin went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in UNF's 11-6 win. He also led the Ospreys on Friday night, going 1-for-3 with two RBI. For the weekend, Martin finished 6-for-10 with seven RBI, two runs scored, a double and a .700 slugging percentage. The senior majors in History.

An All-America selection in 2006, Dobbins suffered through nagging injuries last season but looked like his old self to start 2008 by tallying his longest outing in over a year. In his first start, the senior southpaw helped JU to its first shutout since March of 2007 by hurling six scoreless innings against UNC Wilmington. Dobbins, a member of the 2008 A-Sun Preseason All-Conference team, scattered three hits while walking one batters and striking out two Seahawks. He also did not allow a leadoff man aboard and had only one player reach second base (double). The Lakewood, Fla., native also serves as President of the A-Sun Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and majors in Business Management.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers
Thomas Myers, Jacksonville (Jr. – OF – Lakewood, Colo. – Aviation)
Went 6-for-10 with seven RBI in Jacksonville’s 3-0 start at the JU Invitational

Casey Coleman, FGCU (Jr. – P – Cape Coral, Fla. – Criminal Justice)
Fanned eight batters in 6.0 innings of work in season debut versus Southeastern

Billy Shaughnessy, Mercer (Sr. – SS – Roswell, Ga. – Finance & Economics)
Hit .364 in three-game series at No. 13 Clemson

Ozzie Borrell, FGCU (Sr. – OF – Hialeah, Fla. – Criminal Justice)
Belted league-best two homers on opening weekend

Tyler Stohr, UNF (Jr. – P – Viera, Fla. – Sports Management)
Earned save after tossing 2.2 scoreless innings in Saturday’s win over No. 23 Mississippi State

Kyle Bowley, USC Upstate (Sr. – P – Apopka, Fla. – Criminal Justice)
Hurled 7.0 innings, striking out eight to earn the Spartans their first D-I victory

Jeremiah Lokken, Gardner-Webb (Sr. – 1B/DH – Jacksonville, Fla. – Communications)
Batted .556 with a homer to pace GWU to a 1-1 opening weekend

Carlo Testa, Belmont (Jr. – OF/P – Tallmadge, Ohio – Exercise Science)
Hit .545 with three extra base hits highlighted by a lead-off homer in season opener