DELAND, Fla. – A early offensive flurry and strong pitching throughout the night propelled Jacksonville University baseball to a 5-3 win over Stetson on Saturday night at Melching Field.
 
The Dolphins (30-20, 14-12) got six solid innings from Richard Long, and Blake DeLamielleure hit a three-run homer to even the series at one.
 
"They [the pitchers] did a great job of pounding the zone, keeping their hitters off-balance and pitching with a lead," said Head Coach Chris Hayes. "We gave them a lead early and those three guys did a great job of using that throughout the night."
 
The game was delayed for an hour by persistent rain showers throughout the afternoon, and it started in way that was eerily similar to last night, with a groundball to second by Stetson that resulted in a two-base throwing error. Long was able to erase the error, bearing down to strand the man, a precursor to his night of work.
 
JU scored first for the second-straight day, putting two on to start the second inning. Justin Nadeau singled and took second on a wild pitch and DeLamielleure walked. A flyout to center advanced Nadeau to third, and DeLamielleure stole second to put two in scoring position. Another wild pitch scored Nadeau and Tommy Joseph drove in DeLamielleure to make it 2-0.
 
Stetson hit a leadoff homer in the bottom half to get within one, but the Dolphins came right back and added to the lead in the third. Elias Flowers drew a leadoff walk and with one-out, Nadeau struck out swinging. The pitch bounced away and he was able to reach on the wild pitch, while Flowers took third. DeLamielleure stepped up a drilled a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall to make it 5-1.
 
"I was very happy with the way the guys came out," said Hayes. "Very aggressive early in the count and put the ball in play with authority. We had opportunities throughout the rest of the game and we didn't do a good enough job taken advantage."
 
From there the pitching and defense took over. Long stranded men on in the third and fourth, before his first 1-2-3 inning of the night in the fifth. He only allowed two hits until the sixth, when the Hatters finally broke through again. Back-to-back leadoff singles put runners at the corners. A sacrifice fly made it 5-2, but Long induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
 
The seventh started with a leadoff double and a single to again put runners at the corners with no outs, and Leighton Alley took over. Another sacrifice fly brought Stetson within two, 5-3, but a flyout and a strikeout ended the threat again without any more damage.
 
 The Dolphins had runners in scoring position in the eighth and ninth, but could not add any insurance, but did not need it, as Chris Lotito locked down the ninth, striking out the side to end it.
 
ON DECK
 
Jacksonville faces Stetson on Sunday afternoon, looking to take the series, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. at Melching Field.
 
THREE STRIKES
 

• Chris Lotitio picked up his 13th save and is now in sole possession of second place in saves in a single season
• Kris Armstrong drew his 40th walk this season, and became the first Dolphin since Sam Armstrong in 2018 to reach the 40-walk mark
• Richard Long's seven strikeouts where his second most in a game this year