Kyle Westwood envisioned his senior season at North Florida would go much differently than it has to this point.
After finding success his first two years and anchoring the Ospreys? pitching staff in 2012, the 6-foot-3 flamethrower was limited for much of conference play after suffering a pulled hamstring against Lipscomb on March 23.
Westwood logged only 53.1 innings over 14 appearances this season. Perhaps his final chance to make a difference for No. 3 seed UNF comes tonight as he starts against sixth-seeded Lipscomb at 8:15 in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.
?A fresh arm and a veteran that has been there,? UNF coach Smoke Laval said of his choice to start Westwood. ?He?s a hard thrower and throws strikes. He?s going to try and get us on and off the field in a hurry.?
Westwood is one of only five seniors remaining from the 2010 roster ? the last time the Ospreys reached postseason play.
Junior outfielder Tyler Marincov described the lack of experience as motivation rather than a detriment to success.
?The seniors, their freshman year, were in the tournament, but nobody else on the team has been there yet, so everyone is really excited to experience that,? he said. ?Hopefully we can use that excitement to win some games.?
Marincov is a key cog in a lineup that will look to create runs in support of Westwood. UNF enters the A-Sun tournament hitting .322 as a team this season ? the highest mark in the conference.
Eight Ospreys who have at least 150 plate appearances are hitting over .300.
?We?ve hit well all year; we?ve had a good approach at the plate,? Marincov said. ?We?ve done a lot better this year than we did last year, especially with two strikes. When we start hitting like that, it gets contagious and everybody starts catching on.?
UNF (38-17, 18-9 A-Sun) would benefit from earning its first Atlantic Sun Conference tournament championship. The winner of the eight-team, double-elimination bracket ? held at Stetson University in DeLand ? receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
With an RPI hovering around 60 and victories against power conference programs, the Ospreys could sneak into the 64-team field without winning their conference tournament.
Laval said he has already received a phone call informing him UNF ?is in consideration? for an at-large bid and believes his team?s resume makes it deserving of an opportunity either way.
But the Ospreys are looking toward the safer choice ? handling their business instead of relying on the decisions of a selection committee.
?We want to win this tournament regardless if we would get an at-large bid or not,? Marincov said.
Jacksonville University (17-38, 8-19 A-Sun) finished a tumultuous season ninth in the Atlantic Sun and will miss the conference tournament.
Phillip Heilman: (904) 359-4146
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