JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In its final nonconference games of the 2015 season, the Jacksonville University softball team hosted Georgia Southern, splitting Wednesday's doubleheader.
Jacksonville 8, Georgia Southern 5
Jacksonville saw power across its batting order with all but one tallying a hit in game one. Victoria Brown lead the pack with a pair of hits, the latter a two-run home run in JU's five-run fourth inning.
The Dolphins never trailed in the outing. A wild pitch scored the team's first run and before the frame concluded it held a 2-0 lead.
In the fifth, JU pushed its advantage to seven unanswered runs. It began with a leadoff single by Ashley Simon who stole second on the next pitch and then swiped third, all while Kristen Griffith waited patiently at the plate.
The freshman from Mount Airy, Md., recorded an RBI-single and later scored on a Danielle Baker triple. Jacksonville tallied five runs in the frame before a single out was put on the board. GSU's starting pitcher's day was capped on Brown's two-run homer as the Eagles' reliever Marla Thompson was called upon to get the next three outs. She would retire six straight through the sixth frame.
Paired with Brown's spectacular pitching, JU was firmly in the driver's seat for much of the ballgame. Until the fifth, she had limited the Eagles to one hit before surrendering a two-run shot.
The Dolphins tacked on another run in the sixth and while GSU threatened, Taylor Rossman entered the game for the final three outs and the save.
Brown pitched six innings with four hits, one earned run and six strikeouts.
Georgia Southern 4, Jacksonville 0
The Dolphins had a tough time reaching base and when they did, they had a tough time staying on base. Hitting into 14 double plays before the day's doubleheader, JU fell into five on the day with two in the last game. Between those and fielder's choices, the Dolphins couldn't make much out of their four-hit performance.
The Eagles plated four in the second inning for the lone runs of the day. JU's best scoring opportunity occurred in the third when it loaded the bases - Brooke Hardy and Brown recorded singles and Lexie Ballard drew a walk. A fielder's choice led to the second out at the plate before a ground out concluded the rally.
Rossman pitched the complete game, allowing nine hits and four runs, none earned.
Jacksonville returns to Atlantic Sun action this weekend with a three-game trip at Florida Gulf Coast. Game one is scheduled for Saturday, April 11 at 2 p.m.
