JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The wind was whipping and the sun was shining Friday afternoon at the UNF Softball Complex for the first two games of the ASUN Conference South Divisional Series between Jacksonville and cross-town rival North Florida. The Dolphins (27-18) scored the only runs of the game to begin the afternoon as they picked up a 2-0 win in game one before the Ospreys (21-22) picked up a 5-2 game two win to force a game three in the series.
 
Game one was a pitcher's duel in for the first four innings, with neither starter giving and inch and finding ways to work out of potential trouble.
 
The Dolphins broke the seal in the top of the fifth inning when Madison Kennedy lined a double down the line in left field to score Makenzie Buss all the way from first after she reached base with a one-out walk. Pinch-runner Madison Reynolds scored with two outs in the inning from second on a high-chopper off the bat of Haley Holloway as the UNF third base had to charge in hard to try and make the play at first. The return throw to home from first base wasn't in time as Reynolds' head-first dive made it a 2-0 game.
 
Alyssa Bilodeau (12-7) made those two runs hold up, as she scattered eight hits in her complete game effort, working out of a few jams to keep the Ospreys off the scoreboard. She struck out a pair and did not issue a free pass in the game as she picked up her 12th win of the season. The right-hander worked out of some trouble with runners in scoring position in the later innings of the game on the way to her eighth shutout of the season.
 
Six different Dolphins found their way into the hit column in the game with Kennedy and Holloway collecting RBIs in the fifth inning.
 
In the second game, the Ospreys struck first with back-to-back two out singles to score their first runs of the day and take the early 2-0 lead.
 
JU scored a run in the fifth inning when Haley Holloway showed bunt but pulled it back and belted a double to left field to score pinch runner Madison Reynolds from second after she entered the game to run for Madison Kennedy following a one-out double.
 
UNF tacked on three more runs in the fifth inning with a pair singles that bracketed a bizarre play in which the runner on third scored following a rundown between third base and home after a foul out to first base to make it a 5-1 game.
 
The Dolphins looked to rally in the seventh inning as they loaded the bases behind a double from Samantha Poehlman, single from Hannah Roberts and a walk from Kassidy Cross. With two outs in the inning, Allison Bratek singled right back up the middle to make it a 5-2 game. The comeback was not meant to be, however, as the Ospreys got a flyout to end the game.
 
Skylar Whitty (8-8) was tagged with the loss, allowing four runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings of work. Seana Mora came on in relief and worked the final inning and two-thirds, allowing a run on four hits.
 
Holloway drove in the lone run of the game for JU as the offense was largely held in check by UNF pitching all game long. Roberts went 2-3 with a walk, while Kassidy Cross had a hit and a pair of walks to her ledger. Kennedy and Poehlman each had a double in the game.
 
The two teams will meet Saturday at 1 PM in a winner-take-all affair to advance to the next round of the ASUN Softball Championship in Kennesaw, Georgia next week.