MIAMI – Jesus Pacheco delivered a bases loaded single, followed by a Christian Coipel grandslam to break a 4-4 deadlock in the 20th inning and send Jacksonville University baseball to a 9-4 win at FIU on Sunday in the longest game in program history.
 
The Dolphins (11-5) scored the last nine runs of the day, 15 innings apart, to complete the sweep of the Panthers on the road.
 
The game started off as a pitcher's duel, but FIU was able to strike first in the third. A hit batsman and two walks loaded the bases, and a wild pitch allowed the first run to score. That was followed by a caught stealing, but during the run-down, the second Panther run crossed the plate to make it 2-0.
 
FIU tacked on two more in the fourth. Back-to-back singles and a passed ball to start the inning set up an RBI ground out opportunity. An RBI double after that extended the Panthers' lead to 4-0.
 
A big fifth inning for JU reset the game. Jackson Grabsky led off the frame being hit by a pitch. Cam Ridley singled with one out and Chase Malloy drew a walk to load the bases. Jonah Diaz stepped up and roped a double into right center, scoring two. With two outs, Coipel had a two-RBI single to tie the game at four.
 
It quickly returned to being a pitcher's duel. Michael Darrell-Hicks worked his way through 3.2 innings of relief, scattering five hits and allowing only the two runs in the first inning of work. After getting the first two outs of the seventh, he gave way to Parker Murphy, who fanned the only batter he faced looking to end the frame. Blake Barquin took over in the eighth, and after hitting the leadoff man, got a strikeout and a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. He then threw a perfect ninth to send the game into extras.
 
The Dolphins immediately threatened in extras, with a Tommy Joseph single. He was replaced by Elias Flowers as a pinch-runner, who then stole second, but was stranded there. After a few batters reached in the bottom half of the inning, Tyler Vogel entered and got a pair of strikeouts to end the threat.
 
In the 12th, Pacheco reached on an error and went to third on Blake DeLamielleure's double, but the Dolphins could not drive him in. Vogel again worked out of a jam, loading the bases before a 12-pitch, two-out at bat ended in a flyout to center to strand all three men on.
 
Consecutive one-out walks of Clayton Hodges and Pacheco in the 14th were followed by a flyout to advance Hodges to third, but he was left there. Jack Carver took over on the mound and allowed a single and a sacrifice bunt, but a strikeout and groundout kept the winning run from scoring.
 
Alex Imposimato and Jake Berg singled in the 15th, and Cam Ridley was intentionally walked to load the bases, but came away empty. Then in the 16th DeLamielleure reached on an error with two-outs and advanced to second, but was stranded there.
 
ON DECK
 
Jacksonville begins ASUN Conference play at home against Kennesaw State. First pitch Friday night is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
THREE STRIKES (plus three)
 

• It was the longest game played in JU baseball history, eclipsing the 19-inning 4-3 win over Oglethorpe on April 15, 1967
• The two teams left a combined 37 men on-base
• Christian Coipel's had 10 at-bats, a single-game program record. Blake DeLamielleure, Jackson Grabsky, Jake Berg and Cam Ridley each had nine, which is the second-most in program history
• Coipel's six-RBI matched a career-high, which he set at Florida State April 6, 2021
• JU used seven different pitchers and 12 different position players
• Jonah Diaz extended his hit streak to 10-games, and Blake DeLamielleure stretched his on-base streak to 13 straight