CONWAY, Ark.- Jacksonville baseball (13-14, 7-2 ASUN) was defeated by Central Arkansas (12-15, 4-5 ASUN) in walkoff fashion on Saturday afternoon, in the third and final game of the series.

With the game square at 10 a-piece in the bottom of the ninth inning, Central Arkansas got its lead runner on base with a four pitch walk. A sacrifice bunt advanced the runner to second, and a wild pitch allowed him to get to third. Shipley on UCA then hit a fly ball to center field that was deep enough for the runner to score on third for the Bears to salvage game three of the series via walkoff.

Evan Chrest started on the mound for Jacksonville and pitched five innings, giving up seven runs (all earned), off six hits, a walk and six punchouts.

For the second consecutive day, the Dolphin bats came out hot of the gate. A Will Gale single, Abdriel Delgado hit-by-pitch and a Josh Steidl walk on a 3-2 count set up Chandler Howard with the bases loaded early. Howard took advantage of the situation with a two-RBI single that scored Delgado and Gale, giving Jacksonville an early 2-0 lead. Cade Hentz kept the momentum going with a RBI single that scored Steidl to make it 3-0. Later in the inning, Jackson Westmoreland came up to bat with the bases loaded and came through, driving a single to left that scored two to put the 'Phins up five. After the lineup flipped over, Gale added his second hit of the inning, driving in Conner Spelman to give JU six runs in the first frame.

UCA added a run in the bottom of the first off a sacrifice fly, but Chrest struck out the next batter to avoid any further damage.

In the top of the second, Chandler Howard added two more on the board for Jacksonville with his second home run of the series against UCA and his third of the season.

After a Clayton Hodges sacrifice fly that scored Nadeau in the fourth, the Dolphins were up 9-1. In the bottom of the fifth, the Bears flipped the momentum a bit, putting up a six spot in the frame, which cut their deficit to two, now 9-7.

Scout Updike relived Chrest in the bottom of the sixth, ending Chrest's day. The sophomore from Tampa was given a no-decision. Updike ran into some traffic, finding himself in a tricky situation with the bases loaded and no outs, but was able to get out of the inning with a strikeout and a timely 5-4-3 double play.

After a hitless top of the seventh by the Dolphins, Dylan Faulkner came in to relive Updike on the mound. Updike finished with one inning pitched, giving up no hits with a strikeout and a walk. Central Arkansas came up to bat looking to take the lead for the first time on the day. They were successful, cutting their deficit to one on a solo shot to make it 9-8 and later in the inning a two-run blast put UCA ahead 10-9.

The Dolphins responded immediately in the eighth. A Jaden Bastian walk and Justin Nadeau single up the middle got a couple of runners on for Jacksonville to start off the inning. Josh Steidl slashed a single to right to tie things up at ten apiece in the top of the eighth.

Divine Valle relived Faulkner in the bottom of the eighth. Faulkner finished with an inning pitched, giving up three runs (all earned) off four hits. The Sophomore from Fleming Island got two outs but walked a batter and Hentz it a Bears batter. With UCA runners on first and second, Jacksonville went to the bullpen, calling in fellow Fleming Island native Issac Williams. Williams got out of the inning with a groundout to third, giving the Dolphins a chance to take the lead in the ninth.

Hentz singled in the ninth, but the Dolphins offense couldn't cash in. Central Arkansas called it game in the bottom of the ninth after a sacrifice fly to center, giving the Bears game three. Central Arkansas pitcher Mason Griffin was given the win and Williams credited with his first loss of the season.

Three Strikes

1. The Dolphins scored 10+ runs for the ninth time in the 2024 season.
2. Howard had a season-high four RBIs on the day.
3. Gale, Nadeau, Steidl, Howard and Hentz all had multi-hit games.

Up Next
Jacksonville will take on Florida State on Tuesday night Dick Houser Stadium in Tallahassee. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 PM.