Central Florida 4, St. Petersburg 3 (BASE)

Central Florida opened a promising 2010 spring baseball season with an encouraging win Friday, beating St. Petersburg 4-3 behind a solid team pitching effort and a pair of home runs.

Sophomore catcher Dru Jones hit a two-run shot in the fourth and freshman designated hitter Paul Karmeris notched a solo homer in the sixth for the FCCAA No. 10 Patriots, now 1-0 off the starting line. Tito Mendoza's fifth-inning RBI double provided the other run as CF answered St. Pete scores in the fourth and fifth innings.

Patriot ace Matt Gendron yielded 7 hits over 5 innings while striking out 4 and walking 2. The sophomore right-hander allowed 3 runs, 2 of them earned, and was left out of the decision. Tim Luksha tossed 3 shutout innings out of the bullpen to pick up the win, and fellow sophomore left-hander Chris Labriola stranded St. Pete's go-ahead runner on second base for the save.

While the schedule calls for a noon doubleheader against Northwest Florida State on Saturday, weather forecasts suggest otherwise. Visit this site before coming out to the game for word of weather delays or cancellation.