TROY, Ala. – A late rally in game one couldn't help Jacksonville University's softball team come back from a 3-1 deficit against Longwood, but three-run shots from Bethany Kursch and Kristen Griffith early allowed the Dolphins to hang on to a 9-8 extra-innings victory against Samford, Saturday.
"Dropping game one to Longwood for their first win of the season didn't sit very well with us," said Head Coach Jennifer Steele. "There was an added bonus to ensure that we came out aggressive against Samford. The first pitcher we faced [against Samford] was the type that we hit hard, so it was the perfect matchup for us."
Jacksonville improves to 6-4 on the season.
vs. Longwood
Down 3-0 in the top of the seventh, the Dolphins loaded the bases with one out. Sitting on a full count, Ciara Jones reached on an error by the Lancer left fielder to send Carolyn O'Neal across the plate for JU's only run of the game.
Longwood struck first in the bottom of the second with a double to center field to plate a run and lead 1-0. A two-run shot in the next inning gave the Lancers a 3-0 lead.
"We didn't make the offensive adjustments we needed to until the seventh inning," added Steele. "We saw a similar offensive effort like we did last night and that's just not going to cut it against good pitching. When we make the adjustment early, we're tough."
With the loss, Alyssa Bilodeau falls to 2-3 on the mound.
vs. Samford
Jacksonville got on the board first when Griffith poked the ball through the left side to send Danielle Baker home. The Dolphins then had homeruns in back-to-back innings beginning with a three-run shot over the left field wall from Kursch to send the Dolphins up 4-0.
Griffith then upped the Dolphins advantage to 7-0 after driving the ball over the left center wall in the top of the third to score Madison Ragan and Heather Roberts.
Samford gained a run back when Karsin Spinks drove in a run on a double to the gap in right center field. Two wild pitches in the bottom of the sixth allowed two Bulldogs to cross the plate and come within four, 7-3.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh with no outs, a Bulldog hit to center plated three more runs and Samford tied the game after a wild pitch allowed Abbie Miranda to cross the plate.
In the top of the eighth, Jordan Daniels laid down a bunt to move Makenzie Buss to third with one out and Jones hit a blooper into shallow center to get Buss home and give JU an 8-7 lead. With the bases loaded, Roberts was nicked in the elbow and Jones was awarded home for Jacksonville's ninth run.
In the bottom half of the frame, the Dolphins allowed a Samford run on a throwing error but stranded three Bulldogs on the bases to hold on for a 9-8 victory.
Griffith finished with three hits with four RBI and a home run, while Kursch added a home run and three RBI on the day. McCourt was 3-for-8 at the plate with two stolen bases. Thorpe improved to 3-0 in the circle.
Thorpe saw the mound in both games and combined for 10.1 innings of work and dropped her ERA to 1.03.
"She did a good job of keeping her composure and giving us a chance to win late in the ball game. We didn't make it easy on ourselves in the middle of the game, but Samford hit the ball well against Taylor, and then Seana [Mora] and Alyssa [Bilodeau]. In those moments, Taylor has to rely on past success in order to make it work and that's what she did," concluded Steele.
The Dolphins close out the Trojan Classic tomorrow with a matchup against the hosts Troy at 12:30 pm CST/1:30 pm EST.
