JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville University softball team earned its first Atlantic Sun conference win and its first A-Sun loss of the season Saturday in a doubleheader against the Owls of Kennesaw State. The Dolphins won the first game 1-0 in 11 innings, and lost 5-4 in the second game.
Jacksonville 1, Kennesaw State 0
Victoria Brown pitched the entirety of the 11 inning shutout of Kennesaw State in first game of the doubleheader. She allowed seven hits and stranded nine Owls in the 1-0 victory.
The defensive play of the game came in the top of the third when Adrienne Ramsay robbed a Kennesaw batter of a homer and then made the relay home to stop the runner on third from scoring.
The closest the Owls came to putting a run across was in the top of the fifth. Back-to-back Kennesaw batters hit singles, then both runners advanced on a wild pitch with only one out. But Brown struck out the next batter looking, and forced the one after that to ground out to the third baseman.
The Dolphins almost ended the game in regulation by putting Heather Roberts on second and Brown on first with only one out, but the next two Dolphins were struck out by the Kennesaw pitcher to end the inning.
In the 10th inning each team started its half with a runner placed on second, per NCAA rules. Both teams got their baserunner to third with sac bunts, but neither could get them across in the 10th.
The Owls' final chance to score came in the top of the 11th. With no outs Kennesaw had runners on second and third. The Owl batter hit into a fielder's choice to Roberts, who got the out at home, and Brown caught a line drive and tagged the runner on third for an unassisted double play.
The Dolphins scored the winning run when Roberts came up to the plate with two outs and runners on first and third. She hit a single into the pitcher's leg and then just beat the throw at first, giving Jacqueline Hodskins enough time to run across home plate. Final score: JU 1, Kennesaw State 0
Kennesaw State 5, Jacksonville 4
Paige Curtis was dominant for most of the game, but five runs allowed in the third and fourth innings were just enough to give Kennesaw the win. Curtis pitched a complete game with two strikeouts and six Owls stranded on base.
The first six Owls to face Curtis were sat right back down, and JU took an early lead in the second when Brown scored on a sac fly by Brooke Smith. After two JU led 1-0.
In the third Curtis got the first out on a routine grounder, but then allowed two singles, a 2 RBI double, and an RBI single to the next four batters. An Owl pinch runner was caught stealing for the second out, but Kennesaw was able to get one more run across before Curtis could get the final out on a pop fly to centerfield. Jacksonville responded with two runs of its own in the bottom of the third on RBI hits by Emily Sanchez and Ramsay, but end the inning on a bases-loaded strikeout. After three Kennesaw State led 4-3.
Kennesaw got another run across in the fourth inning on back-to-back doubles, and though they didn't score again, that proved to be the winning run. After four innings Kennesaw led 5-3.
Jacksonville came extremely close to forcing another extra-innings game in the bottom of the seventh. Allie McCourt singled to left field, and then scored on when Sanchez reached on an error by the shortstop with two outs. Sable Lee subbed in to pinch run for Sanchez, and Brown was hit by a pitch to put the tying run on second with two outs. But the next batter struck out, and Jacksonville stranded two. Final score: Kennesaw State 5, Jacksonville 4
Down the Road
The Dolphins have one more game against Kennesaw State this weekend, hosting the Owls Sunday at 1 p.m.
Fans can follow all the action from the 2015-16 season on JUDolphins.com, through twitter @JUSoftball, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JacksonvilleUniversityAthletics.
