NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jacksonville University baseball hit three home runs in the third inning to take a lead it would not relinquish, winning 6-2 over Lipscomb on Friday at Ken Dugan Field.
 
The Dolphins (13-6, 1-0) also got a career-best eight innings in the start from Evan Chrest, who has won three-straight starts now.
 
Both teams got baserunners in the first inning, but the scoring did not start until the third. Blake DeLamielleure drew a leadoff walk, and Tommy Joseph, making just his second start of the season, smoked a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall to put JU on the board. Chase Malloy followed and also left the yard to left. With two outs, Kris Armstrong completed the third-inning trifecta, crushing a solo shot to center to make it 4-0.
 
Lipscomb eventually started to cut into the lead. After Chrest had retired 11 straight Bisons, they broke the streak with a two-out walk in the fourth. A single followed to put two on, then a flare to center plated Lipscomb's first run of the game. A groundout to third ended the threat stranding two on and keeping JU in front 4-1.
 
The Bisons got a double to lead off the fifth. After a dropped third strike allowed the next batter to reach and put runners at the corners, a groundout scored a run to make it 4-2. From there, Chrest got a popout in foul territory and groundout to end the inning and limit Lipscomb to just one run again.
 
The Dolphins picked up some insurance in the latter frames. A two-out rally in the sixth started with DeLamielleure lifting a high flyball to right field. Four Lipscomb defenders converged on it, but it fell between all of them, and with no one covering second, he hustled into second with a double. Joseph stood in and once again delivered, driving a double off the wall in center to push the lead to 5-2. Another was added in the eighth, with Justin Nadeau wearing a pitch with one-out and taking advantage of two separate wild pitches to advance to second and then third. DeLamielleure poked an RBI single to right and extended the lead to 6-2.
 
Chrest and the Dolphin defense made play after play to keep Lipscomb off the board in the second half of the game. After allowing a leadoff single in the sixth, Chrest got a groundball to third, with JU turning a 5-4-3 double play, and faced the minimum in the inning. The leadoff batter was hit to start the seventh, but JU turned two again, this time 4-6-3, and Chrest struck out the third batter to end the frame. Once more in the eighth, the first batter reached after being hit, and this time Chrest registered his seventh strikeout of the game for the first out, and Colin Wetterau caught the runner stealing for the second out. Chrest got a groundout to complete the eighth.
 
Bryce Fisher pitched a scoreless ninth to seal the win.
 
ON DECK
 
Jacksonville looks for a series win tomorrow afternoon, facing Lipscomb at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
 
THREE STRIKES
 

• Jacksonville opened ASUN Conference play with a win for the first time since 2019 (also a conference-opening win over Lipscomb)
• The Dolphins have now won seven-straight over the Bisons, dating back to 2018
• It was the second time this season that JU has hit three homers in one game, the other was vs. Florida on Feb. 28