JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville University welcomed North Florida to the Debbie & Fred Pruitt Softball Complex Saturday where it shutout its River City rival 4-0 in game one before posting a nerve-racking 16-15 come-from-behind win in game two.
Going yard in both ballgames, Danielle Baker recorded eight RBIs. She has now homered in each of the last four games and leads the team with 12 on the season.
"Danielle set the bar high with aggression and it gave the rest of our hitters a lot of confidence," said Head Coach Jennifer Steele. "You hit a ball hard, one falls in and the next thing you know, you've scored three or four runs."
Heather Roberts doubled to leftfield to bring home the first run of the day and Baker's two-out three-RBI bomb pushed the Dolphins' advantage to 4-0 in the fifth.
"I'm going up there and seeing the ball big," said Baker. "I'm trusting the work I've put in, and even if I don't get it done, I know my teammates will.
"It feels really good to get the win, especially after we've been inconsistent in conference."
"[Baker] has just been doing a really great job at seeing the softball," continued Steele. "When a hitter gets into a rhythm like that, the ball looks as big as a beach ball. Right now, she's hitting inside, outside, up and down, fast and slow."
In a quick turnaround of events, the Dolphins' 9-2 advantage turned into a 12-9 deficit in game two.
Jordan Daniels ledoff the second inning with a stand-up double and scored JU's first run after a fielding error by the UNF centerfielder. North Florida went on to record three errors in the inning, opening the floodgates for nine Dolphin runs, highlighted by Daniels' first-career grand slam.
After its big second inning, Jacksonville struggled to plate additional runs while UNF scored in all but one inning, and six in the fourth.
The Dolphins pulled within one, 12-11, in the fifth after an RBI-groundout by Ciara Jones and an RBI-double by Emily Sanchez, and held a 15-12 edge in the sixth after Baker's grand slam.
The lead, however, was short lived as North Florida took advantage of two errors in the seventh to tie the game at 15-all. Brooke Smith broke the stalemate with a perfectly-placed bunt to score Roberts in the home half of the inning.
Victoria Brown (15-14) picked up the win in both contests after pitching a complete game and three innings in relief. She struck out eight batters on the day.
In the decisions, the Dolphins improved to 22-24 overall and 4-7 in the Atlantic Sun while North Florida went 17-23 and 5-6, respectively.
Jacksonville will look to claim the series sweep Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.
