JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville University softball team continued play in its tournament- the JU Invitational- meeting Syracuse and Akron on Saturday afternoon.
Game 1 vs. Syracuse – Walk-Off Home Run
One of the most exciting series of the invitational, without a doubt, has to be JU taking on the Orange. In similar fashion to their prior ballgame, JU used extra innings to defeat the ACC foe, 5-4.
"We talked a lot about our mentality during our pre-game meeting and having the ability respond to tough situations and take a "next pitch" approach," said Head Coach Jennifer Steele. "We gave ourselves a chance to respond late in the game because we were able to keep our emotions under control. I'm really happy with our response. Both Danielle [Baker] and Emily [Sanchez] had the obvious contributions, but we had a bunch of people play well- from adding pressure on the defense by putting in pinch runners, to Brooke Smith being patient and drawing that big walk, it really was a collective team win."
With Syracuse on the brink of claiming a 5-1 victory, the Dolphins tacked on four runs in the bottom of the seventh to keep the game in motion. Jackie DiPiazza scored JU's first run in the stretch before a base clearing double by Danielle Baker tied it all up.
The Orange used a leadoff RBI single to score their sixth and final run.
In the last inning, Victoria Brown was again placed on second base but instead of scoring the winning run as she did in the game before, this time a Charli Bradshaw double down the right field line brought Brown home to the game at 6-6. On the very next play, Emily Sanchez cracked the ball to the left wall for the walk-off homer run and the Fins' 8-6 victory.
Baker concluded the night going 1-for-3 with a double and three RBIs while Sanchez was 2-for-4 with a home run and a pair of RBIs.
Taylor Rossman earned the win, her second of the season, with the complete game. She pitched eight innings, gave up six runs, four earned, and struck out five batters.
Game 2 vs. Akron
Jacksonville rallied for two runs in the fifth but left one stranded on second base as Akron defeated the Fins, 3-2.
"We faced a really good pitcher in Seiler and we weren't able to make adjustments soon enough. We hurt ourselves with giving Akron some extra bases and when you have a tough pitcher you're facing on the mound, opportunities are going to limited."
It was a scoreless game until the fifth inning where both teams mounted runs. In fact, all five runs were notched in the frame. The Zips recorded three runs on three hits and with the Dolphins up to bat, a double by Sable Lee plated Allie McCourt and Courtney Smith.
Following the busy inning, neither team was able to place anyone on base, going three up and three down in the sixth and the seventh.
Lee finished the game with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate with two RBIs.
Brown (2-4) took the loss for JU, allowing three runs, none earned, in seven innings pitched.
Jacksonville concludes its tournament tomorrow, Feb. 15, against Bethune-Cookman at 12 p.m.
