JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The baseball team of Jacksonville University used a walk-off single with two outs and the bases loaded to even up the series against Kennesaw State Saturday, also keeping the Dolphins in the running for first place in the Atlantic Sun.
"That was a character check right there," said Head Coach Tim Montez. "It's as it should be, coming down to tomorrow to clinch the series. About midway through this game our guys said 'Enough is enough' and really guarded their home so to speak. That shows the character of the guys in that locker room. Hats off to our freshman; Mike Schappell did an excellent job in relief, and Connor Stephens came up big when it counted most."
Jacksonville (28-16) jumps to 10-4 in Atlantic Sun play while Kennesaw State (21-24) bumped down to 11-3 in the conference.
Neither team was able to score in the first inning, with Dolphin starter Nathan Disch collecting two strikeouts in the top of the inning. The Dolphins got JJ Gould and Sam Armstrong on base with two outs, but stranded both.
Kennesaw struck first, scoring one in the top of the second inning. Disch sat down the first two Owl batters and should have had a quick 1-2-3 inning, but a Dolphin error allowed a baserunner. The next Kennesaw player hit a double to put the leading run on third, and an RBI single on a bad hop put the run across.
Jacksonville struck back in the bottom of the second. Stephens was walked and Franco Guardascione got a single with no outs, and Nathan Koslowski sac bunted to advance the runners. Dakota Julyia was walked, then Parker Perez used a sac fly to drive Stephens across. Austin Hays was walked, and JJ Gould used a single to drive Julyia and Guardascione across. The Owls pitcher forced Sam Armstrong to pop out to end the Dolphin threat.
In the third Disch had two outs but then allowed back-to-back walks. The Owls capitalized with an RBI single up the middle. JU couldn't respond in the bottom of third, and after three Jacksonville led 3-2.
Kennesaw struck again in the fourth, using a single, a sac bunt, and another single to put one across. The Dolphins went down in order in the bottom of the fourth, and after four the score was tied 3-3.
The Owls used small ball once again in the fifth inning, putting two runners across on two singles, a sac bunt, and a double. JU went down in order in the bottom of the fifth, and after five the score was Kennesaw State 5, Jacksonville 3.
A single, a sac bunt, and a double gave the Owls yet another run in the sixth, then Ryan Granda forced a pop out before being replaced by Mike Schappell, who ended the inning with a fly out to right field.
Jacksonville's bats began to heat up again in the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Dolphins used three doubles to chase Friese and reliever Mason Ward and tie up the game at 6-6. The Owls' third pitcher, Brock Turner, ended the Dolphin threat with back-to-back fly outs.
Both teams were held scoreless through the seventh and eighth inning, and though the Owls chased Schappell with a one-out triple, Arjona was able to force a double play by making the Owl batter pop out and throwing it to third to end the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth the Dolphins got Perez and Hays on with no outs, then advanced both runners with a sac fly by Gould. The Owls intentionally walked Armstrong, and caught Camacho on an infield fly. Stephens came up to bat as the Dolphins' last chance, and he came through in a big way. The freshman hit a single down the left field line, driving in Perez for the walk off win.
"We've still got a long way to go with a couple weekends left, but these guys have put themselves in a position to win a series tomorrow," said Montez.
