CHARLESTON, S.C. – For the first time this season, Jacksonville University's softball team has swept its competition on the day. If the Holy City Showdown is any indication of how the Dolphins will play this season, much success is coming the team's way. Jacksonville opened Saturday's action with a 5-2 victory over Liberty before defeating the host College of Charleston by a score of 3-1.
"I'm really happy with how we are playing the game right now," said Head Coach Jennifer Steele. "We are making plays on defense, battling at the plate, and pitching it well. We look confident in all areas."
The Fins are currently riding the waves of a three-game winning streak and improve to 13-11 on the season.
Game 1
After the Dolphins' first two batters reached base on a walk and hit by pitch, the stage was set for JU to score and they quickly did so. An error by Liberty's shortstop placed Emily Sanchez on first and both Victoria Brown and Danielle Baker scored on the play.
"We were patient at the plate and took advantage of some Liberty miscues early in the game," continued Steele. "Kristen, Brooke Hardy and Victoria Brown all did a great job getting on base and making things happen. Taylor pitched well, taking a 3-hit shutout into the bottom of the seventh."
Taylor Rossman shutdown the Lady Flames in their batting efforts with seven straight outs over the first three innings while the Dolphins added another two runs on the board.
Kristen Griffith led off the second frame with a double to left field. Occupying third with the bases loaded, Brown was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game to bring Griffith across home plate. Another walk allowed Hardy to score as the Fins closed the inning with their fourth unanswered run.
Liberty registered its first hit on a double in the third but wouldn't score as Rossman got the next two batters to fly out.
Jacksonville tacked on its final run in the sixth for a 5-0 lead before allowing the Lady Flames to score in the seventh.
Rossman picked up the decision, pitching all seven innings, giving up six hits with two earned runs.
Game 2
"We attacked early and set the tone in the first inning," said Steele. "We did a nice job of getting hits but I would love to see more timely hitting. We had a chance to bust the game open on a few different occasions and just didn't get that big hit when we needed it."
"VB did a great job keeping us in the game by spinning it down and our defense made the plays behind her time and time again. Charleston is a really solid club and this is a big win for our program."
On Saturday afternoon, the Dolphins took the field against the host, Charleston, a team ranked amongst the top 50 in RPI last season.
Tied at 1-all before the fourth inning, Bradshaw, Ballard and Griffith lead off the fourth inning with three consecutive singles and before the frame concluded, two of those runners scored.
The scoring ceased after the frame as the Dolphins held on for the 3-1 victory.
Sanchez went 2-for-4 while Brown earned the decision, pitching seven innings with seven hits and no earned runs.
"We worked really hard this past week and put in tons of hours on defense. It was our goal to play clean softball and I think we're doing just that. We took our foot off the gas a little with offense, but we were still productive enough to push runs across and come out on top. I'm proud of the work we've put in and excited to see it continue to pay off."
The Holy City Showdown concludes tomorrow with an 11 a.m. ballgame with Dartmouth and a 1:30 matchup with South Carolina State.
