JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Playing in its second contest of the day at the 2018 ASUN Conference Baseball Championship, the No. 2 seed Jacksonville University baseball team fell to No. 4 seed and host team North Florida, 6-2, in the event's semifinal round. The Dolphins drop to 39-18 with the loss, and conclude postseason conference play, while UNF advances to Saturday's championship final, needing to defeat No. 1 seed Stetson twice to capture the title.
"Whether it's an elimination game or not, this is what you expect from JU-UNF," Head coach Chris Hayes said. "It was super competitive, and they played really well and came up with some big hits. I thought the guys that were in pushed very well, but in the end, we had opportunities and we didn't take advantage of them."
After staging a late-inning comeback against the Hatters in the Championship's day three matinee, and eventually dropping a 9-8 decision, JU geared up for its sixth matchup against its River City rival of the 2018 season. Beginning their championship campaign by defeating No. 3 seed Kennesaw State and coming up short to the Dolphins Thursday evening, UNF took down Lipscomb in Friday's afternoon contest to force an elimination game at their home, Harmon Stadium.
After three scoreless inning to start the game, fueled by strong starts from both pitching staffs, the championship host broke through on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth, plating a runner on an RBI ground out from Tanner Murphy. Gaining momentum off a strong outing from senior Matt Meyer, who struck out four in his first career start in the green and white, the 'Phins tied the game in the bottom of the frame, with Sam Armstrong singling through the right side to send Scott Dubrule home from third.
"For Matt to come in and give us five strong innings was huge," Hayes continued. "It was what we expected from him coming into the season."
Working behind five and two-third innings from starter Ethan Michaelis, UNF re-captured the lead heading into the mid-part of the contest, taking on a solo shot in the top of the fifth, and another RBI single from Murphy to bat in Chris Berry for the second time the following frame.
Following Meyer's career-high five inning start, Greg Shannahan struck out a pair in two innings of relief, allowing JU to get back a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Reaching on a two-base error from the third baseman to start off the frame, junior Angel Camacho advanced to third on a ground out and came home on a wild pitch, cutting the JU deficit to 3-2.
The Ospreys added three insurance runs in the top of the eighth and never looked back, loading up the bases for senior Blake Voyles, who doubled down the left field line to send three men in to score, giving the game its final score of 6-2.
Capping off a four-game ASUN Championship run, the Dolphins were led offensively by Armstrong and junior John Cassala, who each went 2-3 in the affair. Meyer was tagged with the loss, surrendering three runs on two hits to fall to 1-1 on the year. Machaelis picked up the win for the Ospreys, allowing a pair of runs (one earned) on five hits to improve to 3-3 on the year. Fanning five batters in three and a third innings on the night, junior Trace Norkus picked up his third save of the 2018 campaign.
Following the loss, Jacksonville will now await its fate in the national postseason picture. The Dolphins have long been predicted to receive an at-large bid in the 2018 NCAA Baseball Tournament, most recently being projected as the No. 2 seed in the Tallahassee Regional by Baseball America and the No. 2 team in the Gainesville Regional via D1baseball.com.
"With 39 wins and the schedule this team has played, these guys deserve to keep playing," Hayes added. "They did a really nice job putting together a good resume this season, and hopefully the NCAA sees that and decides to call our names."
Be sure to tune in to the 2018 NCAA Baseball selection show on ESPNU Monday, May 28 at Noon to find out where the Dolphins land for their next competition.
