JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville University softball team was back on the diamond at the Debbie & Fred Pruitt Softball Complex Wednesday night, stepping out of conference for a mid-week matchup against fifth-ranked Florida in the second matchup of the season between the two teams. The Dolphins' (17-10) bats were held in check most of the evening as the Gators (25-3) went on to win 5-1.
The Gators scored in the first inning to open the ballgame, taking advantage of some free passes issued in the early going by Dolphin starter
Skylar Whitty. Florida also scored in the second inning with a bases-loaded walk after the first three batters of the inning reached base to make it a 2-0 game.
Alyssa Bilodeau came on in relief with bases loaded and no outs and was able to maneuver out of trouble, inducing a pair of flyouts before getting a strikeout to leave the bases loaded and keep it a 2-0 game.
Bilodeau struck out the side in the third inning before the Gators tacked on another run in the fourth with a one-out RBI single through the left side of the infield to extend their lead to 3-0.
In the fifth inning, Bilodeau was able to retire the first two batters in short order before allowing a two-out single that was followed by a homerun onto the hillside beyond left field as Florida extended their lead to 5-0.
Jacksonville had their best scoring opportunity of the night in the bottom of the inning, as
Ashley Darakjian and
Hallie Kern opened the frame with back-to-back singles before
Carolyn O'Neal reached on a fielding error by the pitcher to load the bases. After a foul out,
Samantha Poehlman drove in Darakjian from third on a groundout to second to make it 5-1.
Allison Bratek looked to keep the inning alive with two more runners in scoring position but flew out to left to end the inning.
Seana Mora took over in the circle in the sixth inning as the third pitcher used in the game by Jacksonville, and managed to work around some Florida baserunners over the final two frames to keep the fifth-ranked team in the country off the scoreboard and the score at 5-1.
Jacksonville looked to rally in the late going but a comeback was not in the cards as the Dolphins fell to the Gators to conclude their seven-game homestand.
Whitty (7-3) took the loss in the circle, working into the second inning and allowing two runs. Bilodeau worked four innings in relief and allowed three runs on five hits while striking out five against a pair of walks. Mora worked two clean innings in her ninth outing of the season, allowing one hit and striking out one.
Poehlman went 1-3 with an RBI and a walk while Darakjian, Kern and
Kassidy Cross had the remainder of JU's hits in the game.
Up next, the Dolphins make the return trip to Deland to wrap up the season series with Stetson University starting Friday a single contest Friday evening at 5 PM. The first two times the teams met this season, the Dolphins swept the Hatters in Jacksonville by scores of 6-1, 8-0 and 1-0.
