JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville softball team dropped two heartbreakers to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday afternoon.

The starting pitching was strong throughout the afternoon. Shelby Harpe pitched five strong innings and allowed zero earned runs in the Dolphins' (3-10)first game, while freshman Skylar Waggoner (1-4) pitched a complete game and allowed no earned runs. The Dolphins' pitching staff as a whole did not allow an earned run in the afternoon.
 
Madison Bratek and her sister Allison combined to get on base seven times across the two games with the Hawkeyes. Madison had three hits, one of which was for extra bases, while Allison had three hits and a walk. Kari Holzrichter got on base three times in the Dolphins first contest, and Alison Carter got on base twice in the second game.
 
GAME ONE
The Dolphins had baserunners in every inning and recorded nine hits, but the Hawkeyes' late rally proved to be enough for Iowa to take game one of two in the afternoon, 5-3. Harpe additionally struck out four Hawkeyes and surrendered four baserunners in her five innings.
 
Allison Bratek started the home half of the first with a single and stole second base. Shortly after, a Kari Holzrichter single and Dacie Watterson sacrifice bunt in the second had Dolphins in scoring position early, but the threat ended there due to timely pitching by the Hawkeyes.
 
Iowa started the top of the third with a five-pitch walk from Tory Bennett. Two consecutive flyouts had JU in a position to end the inning, but an error on the Dolphins, followed by a two-out single with two runners on, had the Hawkeyes on the board, 1-0.
 
After getting runners on base in each of the first three innings, two quick flyouts from JU in the fourth had the Dolphins in danger of a quick inning. However, an immaculate 11-pitch at-bat by Watterson resulted in a walk, and the freshman stole second, suddenly putting JU in a position to tie the game. Tatum McCool, another JU freshman, roped a single up the middle, and a bang-bang play at home between the Iowa catcher Pogue and Watterson resulted in McCool's first career RBI. Jazz Jones then slapped a single into shallow right field, capping the inning with three straight freshmen reaching with singles.
 
JU's offense didn't stop in the fourth, as Allison Bratek hit a one-out single, followed by an Alison Carter double down the right field line that gave the Dolphins two runners in scoring position and one out. Lindsey Chadwick then ripped a single, scoring Bratek and giving Jacksonville the 2-1 advantage. Kari Holzrichter then reached on a fielder's choice and wound up on second after smart baserunning on a play at home. During the chaos, the Iowa catcher threw down to second to try and catch Holzrichter, unsuccessfully. Reese Wells, who entered as a pinch runner, subsequently ran home during the throw, and JU was up 3-1.
 
Iowa, who had been quiet for the most part during much of the game on the basepaths, had two runners reach to start the sixth inning, and both runners stole to give the Hawkeyes runners on second and third with nobody out. An Iowa single to right field from Grace Banes scored two, and an eventual sacrifice fly from Rylie Moss saw Iowa up 4-3. The Hawkeyes, with the bases empty, then had two consecutive walks and an eventual single from Jena Young, putting the visitors up two at the end of the frame.
 
Christa Pritchard, who entered the game in the sixth inning, cruised through the top of the seventh inning and turned the frame over to JU. Jacksonville, who got runners in position throughout all of game one, loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning. Carter was hit by a pitch, Holzrichter singled, and Watterson walked. However, timely pitching again from Iowa, this time from Ojo, saved the Hawkeyes in game one, and two consecutive strikeouts stopped the threat there.

Ashlee Harwood, (1-3), picked up the loss in game one, she allowed two unearned and four baserunners. Christa Pritchard also appeared and pitched 1.1 hitless innings. 
 
GAME TWO

The Dolphins again battled back and forth with Big 10 foe Iowa, but like game one, late runs from the Hawkeyes gave Iowa its second win of the day. Jacksonville struck first again in the second game, this time in the third inning. Madison Bratek singled with a bunt, and, after stealing second, her sister Allison Bratek roped a single up the middle to score her. Alison Carter walked, but a deep fly ball to center field from Kari Holzrichter fell into the Iowa center fielder's glove on the edge of the warning track, limiting the damage.
 
With runners on first and second and two outs in the top of the fourth inning, a hard-hit ground ball went towards Bratek at second. After briefly fumbling the ball, she flipped the ball to the shortstop Madison Reynolds covering second, in what appeared to be a step and a half before the Iowa baserunner. Rylie Moss, who was on second at the start of the play, instinctively rounded third and crossed home, uncontested by the appearance of the out at second. Iowa was called safe on the bang-bang play, which tied the game. Devyn Greer, who also pitched for Iowa, grounded out to Bratek on the very next pitch to end the inning all knotted at one.
 
Iowa started the top of the seventh with runners on the corners after a Dolphins infield error, sacrifice bunt, and single. A Soo-Jin Berry single up the middle broke the deadlock, and another error by the JU defense loaded the bases. A Klosterman sacrifice fly scored another, and a throwing error allowed the third run of the inning to score, giving Iowa a 4-1 lead.
 
The Dolphins had been getting baserunners all afternoon, and that didn't change when Hallie Kern led off the inning with a swinging-bunt single. Madison Reynolds and Allison Bratek walked, and three ducks were on the pond for JU. Carter hit a deep fly ball to center field, scoring pinch runner Jazz Jones from third, but a laser off the bat from Holzrichter fell into a diving Hawkeye glove in right field, ending the game.

UP NEXT

The Dolphins return to the diamond tomorrow for a doubleheader with Manhattan. First pitch of game one is slated for 9 am, and the games can be followed via livestats at JUDolphins.com