JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville softball suffered a pair of tightly-contested, one-run defeats at the hands of visiting ASUN Conference foe Lipscomb, Saturday afternoon. The Dolphins fell, 2-1, in game one and were unable to counter the Bisons' seventh-inning rally in game two, 4-3.
"Lipscomb is a very good team; they've played a great schedule," said Head Coach Jennifer Steele. "We lost two one-run ball games because of our inability to make plays when it mattered. I thought we competed hard in game one. Game two found us more on our heels and a little bit befuddled in the batter's box. Once we were able to take the lead, being able to secure it is the next step for us in the process of our growth and maturity."
Jacksonville falls to 21-16 overall and 1-4 in ASUN play, while Lipscomb improves to 27-9 and 3-2 in the league.
Game One
The visitors opened game one with a two-out RBI single into center field to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. A fly out to Bethany Kursch in foul territory near the first base line ended the inning and stranded Bisons on the corners without further damage.
Lipscomb drove in what would prove to be the game-winner in the top of the fourth on an RBI single up the middle.
The Dolphins countered with two outs in the bottom of the frame with runners on first and second. Kursch drove the ball up the middle to bring in Danielle Baker, who slid under the tag at home to cut JU's deficit to 2-1.
With one out in the top of the next inning, Jordan Daniels had what seemed like an unassisted double play after fielding a ground ball, tagging the Bison headed for third, and throwing out the runner gunning for second. However, the umpires determined she missed the tag for what would have been out number two and left the Dolphins in a two-on, two-out jam. With Bisons now on first and third, pitcher Seana Mora took a dribbler to the circle to end the inning without allowing any Lipscomb runners in.
Jacksonville had two hits, drew a walk, and reached on an error in the following innings, but were unable to push any runs home and fell, 2-1.
Mora (3-2) threw her second complete game of the season and struck out two, but suffered the loss in the circle.
Game Two
Lipscomb jumped out to an early lead after getting two runs home in the top of the first, but Jacksonville answered back with runs in the second, third, and sixth innings to take a slim 3-2 lead heading into the seventh.
The Bisons took advantage of a Dolphin fielding error with one out to tie the game at 3-3 and snuck the game-winning run home on a passed ball with two outs to steal the lead, 4-3.
Makenzie Buss led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to left field, but the next three Dolphins went down in order to allow Lipscomb to escape with the victory.
After trailing 2-0 in the first inning, Kursch kicked things off for the Dolphins with two outs in the bottom of the second when she drove the ball over the left field wall to bring the Dolphins within one, 2-1.
Allie McCourt tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third when she brought in Jacqueline Hodskins, who led off with a double to the fence in left center field.
With no outs and Dolphins on first and second in the bottom of the sixth, Daniels laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners around. Baker followed up with a sac bunt of her own to get McCourt home for the short-lived 3-2 Dolphin lead.
Alyssa Bilodeau (6-6) tossed 6.1 innings of work, struck out two, and gave up two earned runs in the loss.
Kursch finished the day 2-for-6 at the plate with two RBI and a home run. McCourt and Baker drove in one run each, while Hodskins had a double in the Dolphins' effort.
Jacksonville returns to the diamond tomorrow to close out the series with Lipscomb at 12:00 p.m. The game will also be live streamed on ESPN3.
