JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A little rest helps, but 10 days' off thanks to Mother Nature's cancellation of last Wednesday's game may not have been totally beneficial for Jacksonville softball as the Dolphins fell, 5-2, in a mid-week rematch with South Florida, Wednesday at Debbie & Fred Pruitt Softball Complex.

"We didn't look rhythmic and that's to be expected with 10 days off. While we needed the rest, we needed a little bit of rhythm too," said Head Coach Jennifer Steele. "We went about the process the right way. Our approach during the pregame and at the plate was good; we just didn't execute when it mattered. We were unable to get the hit when we needed it with runners in scoring position, but we also did not pitch really well today."

The Dolphins' (22-17) defense answered the Bulls' offensive test right away in the top of the first. With one out and USF's Astin Donovan on second, Kristen Griffith caught a fly ball in deep right field for the second out. As Donovan tagged up to take two bases and come home, Griffith relayed the ball to second baseman Makenzie Buss, who threw to catcher Kamille Larrabee who swiped Donovan at the plate to end the half inning.

The Dolphins had a solid chance to plate a run in the bottom of the first after Allie McCourt led off with an infield single that dropped just in front of second base. With one down, McCourt stole second and advanced to third on a ground out from Jordan Daniels, but a fly ball to center field ended the inning and left McCourt stranded on third.

South Florida added runs in the next three innings to take a 4-0 lead before Jacksonville was able to answer back.

The Bulls (25-19) got things going in the top of the second with three consecutive singles from their 5-6-7 hitters with one out to push a run across for an early lead. A sacrifice fly to left field added another run before Taylor Thorpe was able to get a Bull out swinging to end the inning.

An RBI single from Sam Worrell in the top of the third and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in the top of the fourth gave the Bulls a 4-0 lead.

However, the Dolphins weren't going down without a fight and rallied in the bottom of the fifth to cut their deficit in half. Buss got things going with a leadoff single to shortstop and with one out, Ashley McNally singled through the right side to move Buss over to third to get two on. McCourt slapped the ball up the first base line to force the Bulls' first baseman to tag her for out number two and allow Buss to scoot across the plate. Ciara Jones then beat out the throw from short for an infield single and, with runners on first and third, Daniels took a 1-2 pitch through the left side to send McNally home and force USF to make a pitching change. A force out at third ended the inning and the Dolphins were back within two, 4-2.

South Florida kept the pressure on as pinch hitter AnaMarie Bruni led off the top of the fifth with a single. Bruni then scored on a Kassandra Moeller single with two outs before the Dolphins ended the damage with a fly out on the next batter. The final inning and a half were three up, three down as the Bulls slipped away with a 5-2 victory.

Buss led the Dolphins at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a run scored, while McCourt and Daniels both drove in a run.

Thorpe tossed 2.1 innings and gave up three earned runs to fall to 8-5 in the circle, while Madison Ragan threw the final 4.2 innings and struck out two.

Moeller and Lindsey Devitt both finished 2-for-4 at the plate for the Bulls, while Cheyenne Eggens (6-6) picked up the win for USF and Hannah Parker earned her fourth save of the season.

The Dolphins hit the road for a three-game road swing at Kennesaw State beginning with a doubleheader Friday, April 14 at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Jacksonville then closes out the series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.