JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Early offense and a powerful pitching performance fueled Jacksonville University baseball to a 9-2 series opening win over Austin Peay on Friday night at John Sessions Stadium.
 
The Dolphins (4-6) captured a third consecutive win, and Trent Palmer (1-1) set a career-high with 12 strikeouts.
 
The scoring started early for JU, with the Dolphins plating runs in the first for the fourth time in the last six games. Ruben Someillan led off with a walk, followed by a Scott Dubrule single to left. Anthony George was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Cory Heffron lifted a single to right to plate two. A Jacob Southern sacrifice fly and Stephen Moffatt RBI single up the middle made it 4-0 Jacksonville after one.
 
Jacksonville added two more in the second. After a single and a fielder's choice, Anthony George drilled a 1-1 pitch over the centerfield wall for a two-run shot, his first home run as a Dolphin, to extend the lead to 6-0.
 
After Austin Peay got one back in the top of the third, JU responded to push the lead right back to six. Southern hit a leadoff single, went to second on a groundout, scored on Dakota Julylia's single, and made it 7-1 after three.
 
Palmer faced one more than the minimum through the first five innings, a double that come home to score on a ground out, but was dominant throughout the evening. Using four-pitches to keep the Austin Peay bats off balance, he worked a career-high 7.2 innings, allowing only four hits and the one run, while not allowing a batter to reach via a free pass.
 
He gave way to Jagger McCoy in the eighth, who closed things out for Jacksonville, surrendering one run on three hits in the ninth before a strikeout ended it.
 
JU tacked on some insurance in the eighth, when Dubrule singled with one-out, advanced to third on Heffron's second double of the day and both scored on Christian Coipel's single up the gut.
 
CHANATRY COACH'S COMMENT

 

ON DECK
 
Jacksonville goes for the series win vs. Austin Peay tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. The Dolphins send Tyler Santana (0-1) to the mound.
 
HODGES MAZDA PLAYER OF THE GAME
 
RHP Trent Palmer set several personal highs in earning his first win of the season, registering 12 strikeouts in 7.2 innings, while allowing only four hits and one run.



NOTABLES
 

• Palmer became the first Jacksonville pitcher to fan 12 batters in a game since Michael Baumann did it at West Virginia on March 24, 2017. It is tied for the fourth-most strikeouts in a single game in program history
• Dubrule had four hits, extending his hit streak to eight and on-base streak to 10. He is the first Dolphin with four hits in a game this season, and the first since Dakota Julylia had four vs. Liberty in the ASUN Championship on May 23, 2019
• With 13 strikeouts tonight, Jacksonville pitching upped the season total to 104 through the first 10 games