Florida Sports Wire

JAX SPORTS NEWS: Stars edge Jacksonville Suns 4-3 in series finale

The Jacksonville Suns (15-15) fell 4-3 to the Huntsville Stars (17-12) in the finale of the five-game series at Joe Davis Stadium on Saturday night.

The Huntsville win is the final game of the season for the Stars and Suns, with both sides claiming road series victories and the two clubs splitting the season series at five wins and five losses.

Erik Komatsu hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning that scored Brandon Jones to get the winning run for the Stars. Suns reliever Jeff Allison (0-2) took the loss while Robert Hinton (1-0) worked the final three innings in scoreless fashion for the Stars to earn his first victory. Hinton also struck out eight batters in his three innings of relief work.

The Suns jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Huntsville starter Cody Scarpetta. Jake Smolinski hit a solo homer to lead off the second inning to put Jacksonville on top by an early run before the Suns struck twice in the fourth to put the score at 3-0.

Huntsville chipped away at the lead with a run in the fourth before Jones and Steffan Wilson hit back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game at three in the bottom of the sixth.

Scarpetta went a season-high six innings on the mound while allowing three runs on three hits with seven strikeouts. Suns starter Graham Taylor took a no decision, as he went five and a third innings while giving up three runs on nine hits with a pair of walks and four strikeouts in his fourth start of the year.

The Suns will have Sunday off before starting a five-game series against South Division-leading Mobile at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville from Monday through Friday. Monday’s game begins at 11:05 a.m. eastern time with right-hander Omar Poveda (1-1, 5.83 ERA) pitching for the Suns against Mobile southpaw Patrick Corbin (1-1, 5.28 ERA).

The Suns are the minor league Class AA affiliate of the Florida Marlins and members and five-time champions of the 10-team Southern League of Professional Baseball.

To learn more about the Jacksonville Suns, visit www.jaxsuns.com.

JAX SPORTS NEWS: Soul bitten by Jacksonville Sharks, fall 58-42

The Philadelphia Soul (2-6) were unable to slow the attacking offense of the Jacksonville Sharks (7-1) or overcome double-digit deficits throughout the second half as the Soul were defeated 58-42 in front of 8,429 fans on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

“When you play the toughest quarterbacks in the league [Aaron Garcia] you have to play better than we did,” said Soul Head Coach Mike Hohensee. “We can’t have untimely turnovers like we did against one of the top teams in league. We have to improve in that area and others if we want to win.”

Philadelphia Soul quarterback Ryan Vena completed 11-of-23 passes for 123 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions before being replaced by Justin Allgood in the third quarter. Allgood finished the game by completing 8-of-15 passes for 127 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.

The Soul struck first with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Vena to wide receiver Keith Stokes with 7:47 remaining, but the Sharks bit right back with a 20-yard strike from quarterback Aaron Garcia, to wide receiver Jeron Harvey. The following Soul series began and ended with a Vena interception, which the Sharks immediately capitalized on with a 29-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Jomo Wilson.

Both teams got into the end zone at the start of the second quarter to give the Sharks a 21-14 lead. After another Sharks touchdown, the Soul were given a short field with a failed on-sides kick and penalty by the Sharks, which set up a seven-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Donovan Morgan. The half ended with a Sharks field goal and lead of 30-21.

Allgood took over at quarterback with 5:24 remaining in the third quarter. Three plays later, Sharks defensive back Terrance Smith hauled in an interception and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown, giving the Sharks a 37-21 lead at the end of the third and earning him the Spalding Play of the Game.

The teams traded three touchdowns each throughout the final frame, but the Sharks offensive attack proved to be too lethal as they maintained their 17-point lead to finish off the Soul by a score of 58-42.

Garcia displayed his play calling prowess throughout the contest, completing 21-of-31 passes for 271 yards and five touchdowns. Wilson caught 11 of those passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns.

National Guard Most Value Player: Jacksonville’s Aaron Garcia

Russell Offensive Player: Jacksonville’s Jomo Wilson

Riddell Defensive Player: Jacksonville’s Terrance Smith

JLS Ironman: Philadelphia’s Keith Stokes

NiftyTV Playmaker: Jacksonville’s Aaron Garcia

Cutter’s Catch of the Game: Jacksonville’s Jomo Wilson’s 29-yard touchdown reception ending with him flipping over the rear end zone wall.

Spalding Highlight of the Game: Jacksonville’s Terrance Smith’s 41-yard interception return for a touchdown.

JAX SPORTS NEWS: JU takes another baseball series with 5-2 win over North Florida

A trio of freshman arms and solid defense gave the Dolphins another A-Sun series win as the JU baseball team defeated North Florida, 5-2, Saturday afternoon in the second game of the SunTrust River City Rumble at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

JU (29-17, 18-8) never trailed in the contest to win its sixth series of the season and reclaim the SunTrust River City Rumble Old Wooden Barrel.

UNF (24-21, 12-14) had its opportunities in the contest but a runner was gunned down at the plate in the fourth (which would have tied the contest) while leaving a game-high nine runners on base.

"This was a big game for us to win," said JU head coach Terry Alexander. "It takes some pressure off not have a rubber game against a tough opponent. It was good to see our freshman stepping up on a big stage. We are going to need them as we head into the final leg of the regular season."

Freshman Tony Mollica (3-3) got his first win in seven decisions after allowing only two runs on two hits with seven walks and three strikeouts in five innings. Freshman Adam Maxon added three innings of shutout relief while freshman Chris Anderson hurled a scoreless ninth to notch his 10th save.

Tyler Moore (4-2) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits with five walks and four strikeouts in six innings.

Sophomore center fielder Dan Gulbransen led the Dolphin offense by going 3-for-4 with an RBI while junior shortstop Jimmy Howick finished 2-for-4.

Corey Bass led the Ospreys by going 2-for-4 while Andrew Karmeris drove in two runs, including a solo homer to left field.

JU took a 1-0 lead in the first when Gulbransen hit an RBI single down the left-field line.

The Dolphins made it 2-0 in the second after freshman second baseman Taylor Ratliff drove in a run with a bases loaded walk.

UNF cut the margin to 2-1 in the third when Karmeris hit a sacrifice fly to center.

JU increased the lead to 3-1 in the fifth when sophomore first baseman Adam Brett Walker drove in a run with a fielder's choice to second.

The Ospreys cut the margin to 3-2 in the sixth when Karmeris led off the inning with a towering shot over the left field wall.

The Dolphins made it 5-2 in the seventh on a throwing error by third baseman Sam Perry with two outs, which allowed two unearned runs to score.

THE PLAYERS: Field set with ten past champions coming to TPC Sawgrass

The field is set for THE PLAYERS 2011 with the passing of the commitment deadline as the world’s best golfers will again challenge THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, May 9-15.

Only the winner of this week’s Wells Fargo Championship, if not otherwise qualified, can gain entry into what is consistently one of the strongest and deepest fields in professional golf. The field stands at 145 players and features both the top 30 from the final 2010 FedExCup standings as well as the top 30 in the current FedExCup points list.

The field includes every 2011 PGA Tour winner, a total of 17 different players, and all but one PGA TOUR winner since THE PLAYERS 2010, a total of 40 different players. There are 10 former winners of THE PLAYERS in the field as well as the winners of the last 23 major championships.

Fifty-one of the players headed to TPC Sawgrass hail from outside of the United States and represent 18 different countries, including defending champion Tim Clark of South Africa. Australia leads the way with 12 players in the field, including past champion Adam Scott (2004).

Ernie Els, who will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Monday, May 9, is one of seven South Africans in the field, joining Clark and two of the past three major championship winners in 2011: Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.

England will be represented by six players, including 2011 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship winner Luke Donald. Sweden has five players in the field while Italy has three, including Matteo Manassero, who at 18 years, 20 days (on Monday, May 9) is the youngest player to tee it up in the history of THE PLAYERS.

The other countries represented are: Argentina (2), Germany (2), South Korea (2), Spain (2), Canada (1), Colombia (1), Fiji (1), India (1), Ireland (1), Japan (1), Northern Ireland (1), Scotland (1), Venezuela (1) and Zimbabwe (1). These players will look to continue the recent trend of international winners at THE PLAYERS. The last three winners of THE PLAYERS and six of the last 10 have been from outside of the United States.

Fourteen players will make their first appearance at THE PLAYERS in 2011. One of the strongest “rookie” classes at THE PLAYERS in recent memory, the group includes Oosthuizen and 2011 PGA TOUR winners Brendan Steele (Valero Texas Open), Jhonattan Vegas (Bob Hope Classic) and Gary Woodland (Transitions Championship).

Vegas will become the first Venezuelan to compete at THE PLAYERS. Also included in the group is Italy’s Manassero, 2009 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year Michael Sim, Josh Teater, Blake Adams, Michael Connell, Edoardo Molinari, Peter Hanson, Tommy Gainey, Chris Kirk, Keegan Bradley and Hunter Haas.

While Manassero will become the youngest player in the history of THE PLAYERS, Mark O’Meara will be the oldest player in the field for THE PLAYERS 2011, competing at the age of 54 years, 3 months and 27 days (on Monday, May 9).

O’Meara earned a spot in the field by virtue of winning the 2010 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship on the Champions Tour. A 16-time winner on the PGA TOUR, O’Meara will be making his 24th start at THE PLAYERS and first since 2003. He has six top 10s at THE PLAYERS with his best result a 3rd in 1987.