JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It took just two well-timed swats of the bat, but 17 innings altogether in a Saturday doubleheader, for Jacksonville softball to punch its ticket in the final slot of the ASUN Conference tournament. The Dolphins defeated Stetson, 7-6, in eight innings in game one on a walk-off home run from Bethany Kursch, and an RBI single from Ciara Jones in the bottom of the ninth in game two lifted JU, 8-7, in game two, Saturday afternoon at the Debbie & Fred Pruitt Softball Complex.
With its sweep of the Hatters, the Dolphins received the #6 seed in the ASUN Tournament and will face #3 North Florida on Wednesday, May 10 in Nashville, Tenn. in the tournament's first game.
With their seven stolen bases, the Dolphins also crossed the 100-stolen bases threshold to reach a new milestone in program history. Since the team's inaugural season in 2003, no other team has stolen more than 77 bases in a season. The Dolphins reached that in 34 games this season.
"It's been an incredible day for our program and our team," said Head Coach Jennifer Steele. "It's been kind of a tough conference stretch; we'd have moments where we found some rhythm, and we'd have a setback. Today was a great display of all of the things that we focus on throughout the entire year, the grit, the tenacity, the toughness, and the hard work."
Game One
Jacksonville (29-23, 7-10 ASUN) scored a run on a Hatter fielding error in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 6, where the score remained until the bottom of the eighth.
Kursch pinch hit for Jacqueline Hodskins to lead off the inning and, with a 1-2 count, took a pitch deep out to left center field to win the game for the Dolphins, 7-6.
"It felt really good," said Kursch. "I feel really blessed to get that chance to get into the game. It was my only at bat, but I felt like I was put there for a reason and I had to do what it takes. I was thinking, 'Pick a pitch, drive it, but don't try to do too much; don't be anxious, do what's right for the team."
"Bethany has the ability to change the game with one swing of the bat," added Steele. "She was hitting the ball hard Friday in her live at-bats and we had a chance. For her to stay in there, stay balanced, and find a way to put a good swing on a pitch when she was down in the count was awesome."
The Dolphins got down to business right away in the top of the first and drove in three runs for an early lead. Jones led off with a triple to deep left center, but was thrown out at home on the subsequent play by the Hatters' pitcher trying to force a squeeze play. However, RBI singles from Madison Ragan, Danielle Baker, and Jordan Daniels gave JU a sizeable advantage.
Stetson (26-20, 4-13 ASUN) answered back in the top of the third on a two-run single from Ashly Smith, and took a 5-3 lead the next inning with a three-run home run from Maggie Fritts.
Jones tied the game in the bottom of the frame after she drove in Kristen Griffith and Makenzie Buss on a single into center field.
Stetson regained the lead in the top of the sixth on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch situation.
Taylor Thorpe started the game and threw 3.0 innings before Alyssa Bilodeau came in for the final 5.0 innings. Bilodeau struck out five and earned the win in the circle to improve to 10-8 on the year.
Game Two
With two outs and runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth, Jones hit a clutch single down the left field line to bring home Buss from second to walk off for second game in a row, 8-7.
Bilodeau (11-8) threw the final 2.0 innings, struck out one, and gave up just one hit to earn her second win of the day.
"It feels great," said Bilodeau. "We've been working for this for a long time; we really wanted to go to Nashville and that was our biggest thing. We just came out here today to play another two games and do the best we can. We've been preparing for this and just compete the best we can."
"[Alyssa's] getting hot at the right time. She had a few key strikeouts at huge moments. She attacked the strike zone, talked to her defense behind her, and you could see the defense playing confidently behind her," Steele beamed of the freshman thrower.
Stetson pushed two runs across in the first inning and three across in the second before the Dolphins answered back with a huge, six-run offensive display in the bottom of the third.
Jacksonville hit through its order before the inning was through, as RBI singles from Ragan, Danielle Baker, Buss and Griffith brought in four Dolphin runs. A fifth Dolphin scored on a wild pitch, and Kursch hit a sacrifice fly to round out scoring for the hosts and give JU its first lead of the game, 6-5.
The Dolphins expanded that lead in the bottom of the fifth on a sac fly from Griffith that scored Buss, who drew a walk and stole both second a third to get into scoring position.
The Hatters added back-to-back runs in the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game and give fans at the Debbie & Fred Pruitt Softball Complex their second softball game of the day with extra innings.
Roberts (4-for-7), Ragan (4-for-7), and Daniels (4-for-7) all had four hits for the Dolphins, while Buss led the team with three stolen bases. McCourt (3-for-9) and Roberts both stole two bags.
"I'm happy to see the team have confidence in winning when their backs are up against the wall. That's a skill that will stay with them long after they graduate, not even in athletic situations; it's a skill they'll need in life, so I'm glad they were able to experience that today," added Steele.
The Dolphins return to the diamond at the Debbie & Fred Pruitt Softball Complex tomorrow to close out the series with the Hatters at 1:00 p.m.
