JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville University baseball split a Saturday doubleheader against Bradley at John Sessions Stadium.
The Dolphins (10-6) won game one 9-4 and dropped game two 7-5.
GAME ONE
Bradley scored in the top of the first with a two-out solo homerun to make it 1-0 early.
The Dolphins were quick to respond as
Chase Malloy led off with a walk and advanced to third on a
Cam Ridley double. With runners at second and third,
Kris Armstrong drew a walk to load the bases.
Justin Nadeau drew a third walk of the inning to score a run tying the game, 1-1. A line out to second baseman by
Colin Wetterau doubled off Nadeau at first to get the Braves out the inning.
With two away in the bottom of the third inning, Armstrong blasted a "no doubt about it" home run over the right field wall to give Jacksonville a 2-1 lead. The inning continued with a walk to McIntosh, bringing up Nadeau with a two-out base runner. An infield single kept the inning alive for Jacksonville and Wetterau hit an RBI single to make it 3-1 Dolphins.
Blake DeLamielleure belted a two-RBI triple to extend the Dolphin lead to 5-1.
Evan Chrest continued to cruise as he put up four consecutive scoreless frames through the fifth inning.
In the top of the sixth, the Braves got a leadoff base hit back up the middle. After a fly ball to left field and sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second with two away, back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Chrest then struck out the next batter to strand the bases loaded.
In the home half of the sixth,
Cam Ridley was hit by a pitch to start and Armstrong launched his second home run of the game extending the lead to 7-1 Dolphins. After back-to-back two-out walks to Wetterau and DeLamielleure,
Ethan Campbell came in to pinch-hit. He delivered with a base knock to left field to bring home another Dolphin run, making it 8-1.
Tommy Allman came in to pitch the seventh inning closing the book on Chrest and got a quick top of the seventh inning as Jacksonville grabbed the bats. Ridley was hit by a pitch with one away bringing up Armstrong. He singled into left field to put runners at first and second for McIntosh. Ridley swiped third base then a sacrifice fly to centerfield scored Ridley to make it 9-1.
Bradley scored three in the eighth to try and mount a rally, but that was all as the Dolphins closed out a series opening win for the fourth straight week.
GAME TWO
Hogan McIntosh led off the bottom of the second inning with a ground ball to third base, but a throwing error allowed McIntosh to get to second base safely. An RBI single by
Justin Nadeau gave Jacksonville a 1-0 lead.
Bradley was quick to respond with leadoff double putting the Braves in business in the top of the third. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner to third with only one away. A fly out to shallow left field for the second out was not deep enough to score the Braves runner from third. However, a deep fly ball off the centerfield wall for an RBI double tied the game at one.
The top of the order was due up for the Dolphins and
Chase Malloy got it going with a leadoff double into left field.
Cam Ridley then laced a base hit into left to put runners at the corners with nobody out. On a
Kris Armstrong base hit to right, the umpire called that the ball hit Ridley for the first out of the inning. McIntosh delivered with an RBI single back up the middle to make it 2-1 Jacksonville. Nadeau kept the hit parade going with a base hit to load the bases. A fielder's choice was the second out, then on a RBI single into left field by
Blake DeLamielleure, a throw home nailed the second runner to get Bradley out of the inning.
A quick inning for Graham in the top of fourth allowed the Dolphins to grab the bats again quickly. A hard-hit ball by
Elias Flowers to the second baseman was ruled an error. A sacrifice bunt by
Jonny Barditch moved the runner to second for the top of the order. Malloy reached safely on a throwing error by the Braves third baseman to put runners at the corners with one out. He then stole second base to put both runners in scoring position. Following a strikeout, a wild pitch with Armstrong at the plate allowed Flowers to score from third to make it 4-1.
Graham continued to deal as he got through the fifth inning giving up only one run.
A leadoff hit back up the middle by McIntosh had the Dolphins brewing in the bottom of the fifth. On a dirt ball read, McIntosh took second base then advanced to third on a groundout to shortstop by Nadeau. With Wetterau stepping in and was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners with one out for DeLamielleure. He drew a walk to load the bases as Flowers dug in. A third-straight free pass scored another Dolphin to make it 5-1.
A leadoff double by Bradley got them in business in the top of the sixth inning. A ground out to second base moved the runner to third with one away. Bradley capitalized with a base hit into center field for an RBI single to make it 5-2. On a 3-2 pitch, the Braves blasted a two-run home run to cut the Dolphin lead to 5-4. Graham got the next two batters out to hold on to the lead.
The Braves got a one-out single to get the tying run aboard in the top of the eighth. After a strikeout for the second out of the inning, a double into right field tied it at five. Then on a single into right field, the Braves took the lead 6-5.
Jacksonville loaded the bases in the eighth, but could not tie the game.
The Braves added an insurance run in the top of the ninth and the Dolphins went down in order to end it.
COACH'S COMMENTS
ON DECK
The rubber match between Jacksonville and Bradley will take place at John Sessions Stadium on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
THREE STRIKES
1.
Kris Armstrong is the first Dolphin since March 1, 2022 to hit two home runs in a game (
Blake DeLamielleure vs. Georgia Southern)
2.
Evan Chrest set a new career-high with 11 strikeouts
3.
Chase Malloy and
Cam Ridley extended their on-base streaks to all 16 games this season
