KENNESAW, Ga. – A combined 30 hits and 23 runs marked an explosive final day of the regular season for Jacksonville University baseball, who fell 13-10 to Kennesaw State at Stillwell Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Dolphins (30-25, 13-11) are locked into the four-seed in next week's ASUN Baseball Championship, and will open up with Lipscomb on Wednesday.
The lead changed hands once, and was tied up again down the stretch, with Kennesaw State taking its first lead of the day, 10-9, in the bottom of the seventh. A single, a walk and a single started the inning for the Owls, before a single to left brought KSU within two. A pop up to second was the second out of the inning, but a wild pitch plated two to give the Owls the lead.
JU tied it back up at 10 in the top of the eighth, when
Cory Heffron singled, stole second, and scored on
Dakota Julylia's two-out single to right.
Kennesaw State took the lead for good, 13-10, in the home half of the eighth. A slow roller through the right side put the leadoff man on, and after a strikeout, a walk put two men on. The Dolphins got a ground ball to second and nearly turned two to end the inning, but the runner beat the throw to first. Another walk loaded the bases, and a pinch-hitter took a close pitch at the knees for ball four to walk in the go-ahead run. A single up the middle plated two more to end the scoring for the day.
Jacksonville brought the bats to play early, scoring two in the first inning. Julylia and
Scott Dubrule walked, and consecutive singles to left from
Angel Camacho and
Jacob Southern scored them.
JU led 3-0 in the second, when
Ruben Someillan singled to right, advanced to third on a hit and run with Julylia, and scored on Dubrule's single to right.
The Dolphins extended the advantage to 5-0 before Kennesaw State managed a run, pushing across two more in the third. Southern was hit by a pitch and went to third on
Duncan Hunter's single to right.
Cory Garrastazu laid down a suicide squeeze to plate Southern and Heffron hit a hot shot up the middle to score Hunter.
After the Owls cut it to 5-2, JU tacked on two more in the fourth to build the lead back out to five, 7-2. Dubrule singled to lead off the frame, and
John Cassala drew a walk. Camacho drove in his second run of the day and Southern singled to load the bases. Garrastazu drove in another run on a catcher's interference before a double play ended the inning.
Kennesaw State scored four unanswered in the fifth and sixth to climb within one, 7-6, before JU scored two more in the top of the seventh. Back-to-back singles from Someillan and Julylia started the inning, and Dubrule sacrificed them into scoring position. Cassala laced a single through the left side and a wild throw from the left fielder allowed both runs to score, giving the Dolphins a 9-6 lead at the stretch.
Jacksonville begins the 2019 ASUN Baseball Championship at 7 p.m. on Wednesday vs. Lipscomb at Melching Field in DeLand, Fla.
