NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After trailing by as much as six runs, Jacksonville brought the winning to the plate twice in the ninth inning but came up short to Lipscomb, 10-8, in the opening round of the 2016 Atlantic Sun Baseball Championship at Dugan Field. Jacksonville (33-21) scored three runs in the ninth, but Lipscomb's (31-25) Cody Glenn, the third pitcher used in the inning by the Bisons, was successful with his first save.
"I really like the fight, grit, and determination that we had to get back into this game," said Head Coach Tim Montez. "Hopefully we can use that and roll it into tomorrow."
Jacksonville began its ninth inning rally when pinch-hitter Nate Ricci was hit-by-pitch. Connor Stephens doubled to center, and Ricci sprinted to third. A passed ball advanced both runners, then Stephens scored on a Parker Perez double down the left field line. The Dolphins scored their final run later in the frame on a wild pitch.
Lipscomb began the game with a bang. Nathan Disch (5-4) surrendered two home runs in the second. A solo shot by Tevin Symonette and two-run homer by Hunter Hanks gave the Bisons the lead.
The Bisons jumped on another two-run blast in the fourth, this time off the bat of Symonette for his seventh of the season.
"The first three or four innings we didn't execute on the mound, and our bullpen wasn't able to shut them down. We dug ourselves too big of a whole for our offense to dig out," said Montez.
Disch departed with five runs off six hits in three-plus innings. He had four strikeouts and no walks. Chris Gau was the first pitcher out of the bullpen and was scoreless until the sixth. He gave up five hits, two runs, a walk, and had five strikeouts in three innings.
The Dolphins manufactured their first run off three hits in the fourth off ASUN Pitcher of the Year Brady Puckett. JJ Gould and Austin Hays singled to start the frame, and a batter later Angel Camacho singled home Gould.
The Dolphins scored again in the sixth after giving up two more runs in the Bisons in the top of the inning. Hays crushed a pitch to center field for his conference-leading 15th bomb of the season.
Jacksonville scored twice in the seventh off Puckett (9-2) with a Stephens RBI single and Julylia RBI groundout.
Puckett went seven innings with nine hits, four runs, no walks, and eight strikeouts.
The Dolphins scored once in the eighth off reliever Jaesung Hwang on a Camacho groundout.
Jacksonville takes on Stetson, who knocked off top-seeded Kennesaw in the first game of the tournament, Thursday at 4 ET.
"I've been a part of a JU team that has won the tournament out of the loser's bracket and it can be done," said Montez. "We've got the right guy going tomorrow and we will be ready to play."
