JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Alyssa Bilodeau and Seana Mora pitched a pair of complete game shutouts to open Jacksonville University softball's conference season Saturday. The Dolphins defeated North Florida 6-0 in game one and 7-0 in game two.
In game one, Bilodeau (12-4) struck out three and held the Ospreys (20-16, 0-2) to two hits and no runs in seven innings. Mora (3-6) took the circle in game two and produced an identical line – seven innings, two hits, no runs, three strikeouts.
"We got two excellent pitching efforts from Alyssa and Seana," JU head coach Erica Ayers said. "They were at the top of their game today."
With the wins, Jacksonville (18-13, 2-0) takes an early two-game lead over their crosstown rival in the A-Sun standings.
At the plate, Ayers praised the Dolphin bats for their success against a variety of looks from UNF.
"We saw all three of their arms today, and they're all three very different. Our ability to make those adjustments was crucial," she said.
Against the game-one starter, left-hander Sydney Matzko, JU totaled four runs on six hits and three walks in four and two-thirds innings.
In the third, Danielle Baker and Heather Roberts opened the inning with a pair of walks. A sacrifice bunt by Madison Ragan put the runners in scoring position, and a pair of RBI-singles from Hannah Roberts and Kristen Griffith put JU up 2-0.
Later on in the fifth, Baker and Heather Roberts again led off the inning, this time after being hit by back-to-back pitches. Roberts scored on a wild pitch, and when Matzko walked Jordan Daniels, that was enough to prompt the pitching change to the right-handed Morgan Blourne.
Griffith followed the change with her second RBI single of the day, giving JU a 4-0 lead. She finished game one 2-for-3 with two RBI. Six different Dolphins registered hits in the contest.
Adding insurance in the sixth inning, Allie McCourt, Baker, and Heather Roberts all walked to load the bases. Ragan came through with a sacrifice fly to right field that scored McCourt and resulted in a second run and a 6-0 lead on a fielding error.
Matzko (10-10) took the game one loss.
In the circle in game two for North Florida was right-hander Amanda Blanchard, who the Dolphins took for seven runs on nine hits and two walks.
The scoring began in the second inning as Daniels singled, Griffith reached on an error, and a double-steal resulting in a throwing error allowed Daniels to put JU up 1-0. Serena Quinata drove in Griffith to make it 2-0.
A solo home run by Heather Roberts in the third made it 3-0, and JU took a 4-0 lead in the fourth. Carolyn O'Neal reached on an error, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Quinata, and moved to third on a single by McCourt. Baker walked to load the bases for Heather Roberts, who drove in O'Neal.
In the fifth, Hannah Roberts led off with a single. Makenzie Buss came in to run for her and advanced to second on a single by Daniels. An RBI-double off the bat of Griffith put the Dolphins up 6-0. They added one more run on an RBI-single by Heather Roberts, who finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI.
In game two, eight different Dolphins logged hits. Blanchard (5-1) took the loss for UNF, her first of the season.
"When you look at scores, it looks like it might have been an easy day," Ayers said. "But it's never easy. That's a really, really good team across there."
The Dolphins and Ospreys close the three-game series at the Debbie and Fred Pruitt Softball Complex Sunday at 1 p.m.
