JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville University baseball completed its four-game sweep of Siena with an 11-6 win Sunday afternoon at John Sessions Stadium.
 
The Dolphins (5-3) got strong relief pitching and were able to rally in the middle of the game to retake the lead for good.
 
After the Saints went down in order in the top of the first inning, the Dolphins went up to bat for the first time and wasted no time. Chase Malloy got hit by a pitch during the leadoff at-bat, bringing Cam Ridley to the plate. A pickoff move to first went wide right, allowing Malloy to go to second base. Then, he took third base on a wild pitch. Malloy scored on a ground out to shortstop to make it 1-0 Jacksonville. Chandler Howard slapped a base hit into left field to give the Dolphins a one-out base runner. Hogan McIntosh kept the Dolphins hit parade going with a hit to right advancing the runner from first to third to put runners at the corners for Kris Armstrong. A deep sacrifice fly scored Howard from third. Blake DeLamielleure dug in with two away. After McIntosh stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the Siena catcher, DeLamielleure ripped an RBI triple down the third base line to make it 3-0 JU.
 
In the top of the second, a leadoff walk got Siena its first baserunner of the game. A tap back to the mound was bobbled for an error to put two on for Siena. A strikeout and a flyout followed, but a walk loaded the bases for the nine-hole hitter of Siena. A hit batsman brought home the first run for the Saints, and another walk drawn by Siena scored a second run. The JU lead did not hold long, as a bases-clearing triple gave Siena a 5-3 advantage. Head Coach Chris Hayes to called to the bullpen and it was Scout Updike who came up with a strikeout to get out of the inning. 
 
A one-out walk to Elias Flowers brought up the top of the order in Malloy. On a swinging third strike to Malloy, Flowers took second base on a stolen base putting a runner in scoring position for Ridley. He came through with a single into left field which scored Flowers from second cutting the deficit to 5-4.
 
In the bottom of the third, a leadoff walk to McIntosh got the Dolphins in business to bring up the dangerous Armstrong. A balk moved the runner 90 feet up into scoring position. Following a walk to Armstrong to put runners at first and second, DeLamielleure grounded into a 5-3 unassisted double play. With Armstrong at second with two away, Colin Wetterau drew a base of balls, so with two on and two out, it was up to Jonny Barditch to deliver for Jacksonville. He came up with a hit to left field but Coach Hayes held Armstrong up at third to load the bases, but they were stranded to keep the Siena's lead at 5-4. It was the only inning JU did not score all day.
 
After keeping Siena from scoring in the top of the fourth, the top of the Dolphins order was due up in the bottom half. With one-out, Ridley dug into the right handlers batter's box and blasted his first home run of the season over the left center field wall to tie the game at 5-5.
 
To lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, a bomb by Blake DeLamielleure gave Jacksonville a 6-5 lead over the Saints.
 
Ridley led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a bunt single down the third base line bring up Howard who drew a four-pitch walk. On a 2-2 count, McIntosh hit an RBI double into left field, making it 7-5 Dolphins. Howard scored on a wild pitch to extend the Jacksonville lead to 8-5. A second wild pitch scored another run to make it 9-5.
 
Updike continued through the sixth inning as he settled things down for Jacksonville, going 4.1 innings of scoreless relief and cashing in five strikeouts to earn the win. 
 
Issac Williams took over on the mound for Updike to start the seventh inning. A leadoff base hit just past Malloy got Siena on the base paths. Following a flyout to right field, a pinch-hitter for the Saints slapped a base hit into left field to put runners at first and second with one-out. On a double steal attempt, McIntosh nailed the runner at third for the second out of the inning. Following a walk to put Siena runners at first and second with two away, Williams fanned the Saints batter for his first strikeout.
 
Ridley walked with one-out to give Jacksonville a base runner in the bottom of the seventh. After Howard grounded into a fielder's choice and McIntosh reached on a base on balls, it was up to Armstrong to get a runner home with two away and he did just that. An RBI single by Armstrong extend the Jacksonville lead to 10-5.
 
The Dolphins made sure to add some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, as Barditch led off the inning with a base hit. The five-run lead didn't stop the Dolphins from running, as Barditch stole second base then advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Flowers. Jacksonville had a base runner 90 feet away with one out for the top of the order. After a strike out, it was up to Ridley, who slapped one down the third base line and reached on a throwing error scoring the run to make it 11-5. 
 
Aiden Kelly came in to pitch for the Dolphins in the top of the eighth. Kelly's final line was one inning with one strikeout and zero walks. It was Chris Lotito who got the call to close it down in the ninth and did effectively but not without noise. The Saints drew two free passes in the top of the ninth. A base hit to center scored a sixth run of the for Siena. Lotito got out of the jam by striking out the side for the Dolphins, as he closed down the weekend and completed the sweep.
 
ON DECK
 
Jacksonville is back in action on Tuesday night as the #7 Florida Gators visit John Sessions Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
 
THREE STRIKES
 
1.     Cam Ridley and Blake DeLamielleure hit their first home runs of the season.
2.     Scout Updike picked up his first career win.
3.     Jacksonville stole 18 bases over the four-game weekend series.