LOUISVILLE, Ky.- Jacksonville baseball (11-12, 5-1 ASUN) defeated Bellarmine (1-22, 0-6 ASUN) on Sunday afternoon to sweep the weekend series.
 
Jacksonville's bats came up huge in the 8th, putting a six spot on the board, giving the Dolphins a substantial lead, enough to get the win.
 
Evan Chrest got the start on the mound and pitched 3.2 innings, giving up seven runs (all earned), 13 hits, walked one and struck out five.  
 
The Dolphins put two on the board to start off the game. The first came off a Justin Nadeau base knock, scoring the speedy Will Gale. Nadeau than later scored on a throwing error by the catcher, making it 2-0 Dolphins early.
 
Bellarmine responded right back, hitting a sacrifice fly to score a runner making it 2-1. A Knight's triple would tie things up and the next BU batter drove him in, giving the Knights the advantage 3-2 concluding the first inning. Chrest finished off the inning with a swinging strikeout to avoid any further damage.
 
Bellarmine added another run to their lead in the second, off a solo homer, making it 4-2 Knights heading into the third inning.
 
The Dolphins were ready to respond though in the fourth. Gale and Blake Edmonds got things started with a pair of base knocks each. Nadeau came up to bat and drove the ball up the middle for a base hit, scoring Gale to make it 4-3 Knights. Peyton Prescott came up to the plate and hit in Edmonds to tie things up at four a piece. Abdriel Delgado than stepped up to bat and gave the 'Phins back the lead with a RBI single, scoring Nadeau. After a Nick DeLisi walk, Cade Hentz singled through the left side, scoring Delgado to make it 6-4 'Phins. 
 
After a blank top of the fourth by Jacksonville, Bellarmine struck back with a two-run homerun, tying things back up at six. The Knights took the lead 7-6 off a RBI double. Dylan Faulkner came into the game to relieve Chrest and got the final out of the inning with a lineout to Nadeau.
 
Following a scoreless fifth inning by both squads, Jacksonville came up to bat in the top of the sixth looking to take back the lead and did just that. Prescott delivered in a bases loaded situation, driving in Nadeau and Gale on a base hit to give Jacksonville the lead back, 8-7. The Dolphins weren't done in the inning, as a DeLisi double scored Steidl, with the score now 9-7. Hentz once again came through, driving in DeLisi and Prescott to extend the 'Phins lead to four. 
 
Bellarmine cut the deficit down to three with a run in the sixth, making the score 11-8. After Jacksonville could not get things going in the top of the seventh, Bellarmine added another run in the bottom of the seventh off a RBI single by the Knights. Scout Updike came in to relieve Faulkner, ending his day. Faulkner finished with 2.2 innings pitched, giving up four runs (all earned), walking one and struck out three Knight batters. Bellarmine would take the lead later in the bottom of the seventh off a three-run shot to center, making 12-11 Knights heading into the eighth.
 
Once again, the Dolphin bats responded when facing adversity. Chandler Howard started the top of the eighth with a walk on four straight pitches and advanced to second on a wild pitch. DeLisi also walked but on a 3-2 count. Hentz stayed on fire and lined a clutch triple down the right field line, scoring DeLisi and Howard, to give Jacksonville the lead back, 13-12. Aidan Masters came into pinch hit and did his job, driving home Hentz to put the 'Phins up two. After a Will Gale walk on four pitches, Jaden Bastian singled to right, scoring Masters to make it 15-12. The Dolphins weren't done in the inning, adding another pair of runs off another Nadeau RBI and a Josh Steidl base hit, making it 17-12 'Phins going to the bottom of the eighth.  
 
Issac Williams took over for Updike, looking to shut down the Knights and end the ballgame. Updike finished with 0.2 innings pitched, giving up an earned run off two hits and struck out a Bellarmine batter. The Knights scored a run off a sacrifice fly in an attempt to comeback, but any further attempts were shut down, with Williams getting a backwards K to end the game. Williams finished with an inning pitched giving up one run (unearned), off one hit, with only one walk and two strikeouts. The game ended in the eighth, due to a drop-dead time so the Jacksonville team was able to stay on track with its travel schedule. Updike was credited with the win, his first on the season.

Three Strikes:

1. Cade Hentz had an outstanding day, going 4 for 4 at the plate with 5 RBIs, a triple and a walk.
2. Eight Dolphins had at least one RBI.
3. Josh Steidl and Justin Nadeau both had multi-hit games.

Up Next:

Jacksonville returns home to John Sessions Stadium on Tuesday to face off against UCF. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 PM. Click here for ticket information.