ORLANDO, Fla. – The Jacksonville University baseball battled No. 12 UCF in a mid-week matchup on Tuesday, falling in a ninth-inning walkoff single, 6-5. The Dolphins split with the Knights in the season series after capturing a win at home on March 24. The Dolphins (15-17; 2-1) continue on the road to face conference-rival Florida Gulf Coast beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m. 

After an hour and a thirty-five minute rain-delay pushed the first pitch, the 1150 in attendance were treated with a see-saw battle that saw four lead changes. Jacksonville would gather a 5-3 lead in the fifth frame with Austin Hays (1-for-4) driving a 2-RBI single into center field. But, UCF would answer in the bottom half, scoring two runs.

The tie remained through the sixth, seventh and eighth as Dylan Dillard and Gregory Shannahan combined four innings with no runs, as Shannahan dealt the seventh and eighth striking out three and allowing no hits.

Seven walks in the game proved to be the bugaboo for the Fins on the evening, "It's hard to beat a nationally ranked team when you walk seven guys," said head coach Tim Montez. "That's what it came down to, our inability to throw strikes in that game which is uncharacteristic of us. We helped them tremendously get on track offensively, but give [UCF] credit they took advantage of those opportunities."

In the ninth, the Knights would load the bases with a single and two walks, which set the table for James Vasquez who drove the 1-1 pitch up the middle and out of reach of Angelo Amendolare's diving, outstretched glove.

Both teams scored in the first inning with Jacksonville kicking things off behind a leadoff triple from Nathan Koslowski (1-for-3) down the first-base line. Amendolare (1-for-4) drew a walk and stole his 15th bag of the season, nullifying any double-play ball threat. Hays would drive the inside pitch to shortstop, scoring Koslowski. Seth Dewitt (0-for-5) drove a sharp-groundball to third that was ruled an error, scoring Amendolare.

UCF would gather three runs in the first to take the advantange into the fifth until the Dolphins reclaimed the lead in the frame.

Small-ball would chip away at the deficit, setting up a two out, two-RBI single by Austin Hays for his third of the game. Back-to-back walks to Garrett Ruckel (0-for-1) and JJ Gould (1-for-2) would set up Alex Seifert (1-for-2) with a well-executed sacrifice bunt that would lead to an errant throw by the pitcher. Ruckel would score to tie the effort at three.

But, UCF would load the bases in the bottom-half and drive in two runs. Dillard came in to limit the damage and hold the game tied into the ninth.

Continuing on the road, JU will head to Fort Myers for a weekend series with conference-rival Florida Gulf Coast beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m., concluding Sunday with a 1 p.m. afternoon start. The return to Jacksonville is met by a weekday matchup with Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday with the River-City Rumble in effect with a trip to North Florida in a weekend showdown, April 17-19.

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