JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Don't call them underdogs, but Jacksonville University's softball team proved anything can happen on day one of the Dolphin Invitational. The Green and White overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat North Carolina A&T, 3-2, in game one and a walk-off solo shot in the bottom of the seventh lifted the Dolphins over Akron, 2-1, after the Zips tied the game up in the top of the inning of game two, Saturday afternoon.
vs. North Carolina A&T
Down 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth with two outs and two runners on, Madison Ragan hit a blooper to shallow center field to give the Dolphins (7-5) the go-ahead two runs needed to overcome North Carolina A&T's early 2-0 lead.
"It was not pretty softball, but we found a way to win," said Head Coach Jennifer Steele. "From a pitching perspective, once Taylor [Thorpe] came into the game, we pitched above average. Defensively and offensively, we were below average. Anytime you can not be great in two-thirds of the game and still come away with a win, that's a good day."
Jacksonville allowed two Aggie (5-8) runs early in the first inning, but the Dolphins quickly countered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame.
Allie McCourt led off with a perfectly placed bunt in front of the catcher and advanced to third on an errant throw that ended up in foul territory down the right field line. With one out, McCourt tagged up on a Madison Ragan fly out to right to close the game to 2-1.
The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the fifth inning when Ragan's chipper to shallow center sent McCourt and Makenzie Buss across the plate to give the Dolphins a 3-2 lead.
The next inning and a half was light work as the Dolphins faced the minimum number of batters to seal the win on the mound for Taylor Thorpe, who advances to 4-1 in the circle.
vs. Akron
Tied 1-1 with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Bethany Kursch showed no mercy and sent a fastball over the left field wall to give the Dolphins a walk-off 2-1 victory over Akron in game two.
The Dolphins struck first in the bottom of the third in game two when McCourt laid a nice bunt in front of the Zips' catcher to advance Danielle Baker, who reached on a double to left field. Baker was then able to get home after the throw to first went wide into foul territory in right field.
The Zips (6-6) had chances to tie the game up in the subsequent innings, but the Dolphin defense showed its experience and was able to help right-hander Alyssa Bilodeau get out of some tough jams and leave four Akron runners left on base.
The Zips were able to keep hope alive, however, when pinch hitter Kelly Hysong took off from third after Ciara Jones caught a fly ball in foul territory with one out in the top of the seventh. The Dolphins ended the inning on the same play when Jones threw Ashley Sims out trying to take third.
"We were out-hit by Akron but we found a way to win," added Steele. "Credit Alyssa [Bilodeau] and Taylor [Thorpe] both; they pitched really well. Tomorrow's going to be tough. [Akron and N.C. A&T] are going to come out ready to play and we're going to have to play cleaner softball if we're going to walk away with wins."
Bilodeau earned the victory on the mound to improve to 3-3 and Thorpe picked up her first save of the season after pitching the final 2.0 innings.
McCourt finished the day 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and a stolen base, while Ragan and Buss had two hits and three RBI each. Jordan Daniels and Baker both had a stolen base, while Kursch added an RBI.
The Dolphins return to action tomorrow with a 12:00 p.m. contest against Akron, followed by the final game of the tournament against North Carolina A&T at 2:30 p.m.
