JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The River City Leadoff finale between Jacksonville University's softball team and the College of Charleston was an instant classic despite the visitors escaping Debbie and Fred Pruitt Softball Complex with a 5-3 win in extra innings, Sunday afternoon.

"We showed a lot of maturity on defense and we had multiple options to go to in the circle," said Head Coach Jennifer Steele. "We weren't as sharp as we were in the previous four games and we allowed Charleston to hang around. When it was tied up and we went into extras, we were one bad bounce or one call away from walking away with a win. It's difficult to gauge the whole weekend on today's result because for the weekend, we played really well overall."

The Dolphins won the first four games and finished the weekend 4-1 to start the season.

Tied at 3-3 at the end of seven innings, the Cougars (4-0) placed Lexee Emanuel on second base per international tiebreaker rules to start the eighth inning. Leadoff hitter Kelly Sinclair laid down a bunt in front of the plate and beat the throw to first to put Cougar runners on first and second. Katie Padilla then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners around.

Izzy McCluskey sent a shot down the left line to plate Emanuel and Sinclair and give College of Charleston a 5-3 advantage. The second out came on a routine groundout to third, and Taylor DuPree followed with a bunt in front of home plate. The throw to first got McCluskey to head for third base and an overthrow sent the ball into left field.

However, left fielder Jacqueline Hodskins showed off her cannon and threw McCluskey out at home to limit the damage and send the send Jacksonville to the plate. The first three Dolphins were then retired to end the game.

JU got their first two runs in the bottom of the first when Allie McCourt walked and Danielle Baker knocked a ball up the middle. McCourt scored on the ensuring errant throw and Baker took second to give the Dolphins a 1-0 lead with no outs and Baker in scoring position. Bethany Kursch walked on the next at-bat and forced the Cougars to replace starting pitcher Sam Martin with Brittany Violette.

Madison Ragan sent the ball into left field two plays later to get Baker across the plate for JU's second run.

The Cougars got on the board in the top of the third when Taylor Belfiore hit a single to right field to plate Madi Brown. Kristen Griffith ended the inning on an impressive throw from shallow right field to third base to beat the runner.

An incredible diving catch in front of second base by Makenzie Buss ended the top of the next inning and kept the Cougars from rallying on two outs. "Makenzie handled second base really well. She showed a lot of passion and she was fun to watch," added Steele.

College of Charleston loaded the bases in the top of the fifth and tied the game at 2-2 after Belfiore's sacrifice hit allowed DuPree to score. The bottom of the frame saw the Green and White regain the lead when Heather Roberts hit a shot between third and shortstop to drive in McCourt.

The top of the seventh saw great Dolphin defense as Jordan Daniels, Baker, and Buss combined to get a Cougar runner caught in a rundown before Daniels closed in and tagged her for the second out of the inning. "Jordan Daniels had an incredible weekend. She played a great third base, made a lot of spectacular plays to get us out of innings, and took away the short game," noted Steele.

However, Belfiore drove in Yari Felix on a shot to right field with two outs to tie the game at 3-3 and send the game into extra innings.

Baker finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI. Roberts and Ragan also added RBIs. Alyssa Bilodeau started the game and had two strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work, while Ragan got the loss in the circle.

"Our will to want to win was a little too big at moments; we were trying too hard to get the hit and to make the play," added Steele. "If we can stay in control of our emotions, I think that will fare well for us on Wednesday [against Florida]."

The Dolphins return to Debbie and Fred Pruitt Softball Complex Wednesday, February 15 to square off with No. 4 Florida at 6:00 p.m.