KENNESAW, Ga. – The Jacksonville softball team (15-17, 5-4 ASUN) won both parts of a doubleheader over the Kennesaw State Owls to sweep its first weekend series of the season.

Skylar Waggoner pitched 9.2 innings in game two, and Alison Carter led the team with five hits on the afternoon to push the Dolphins to wins in both games over ASUN foe Kennesaw State.

"That was just an incredibly gutsy performance in game three," said head coach Erica Ayers. "It was a complete team effort all weekend."

GAME ONE

The Dolphins used a complete team effort in game two of the series to win 8-0 over KSU.

Shelby Harpe (4-6) spun a four-hit shutout in five innings of work to keep Kennesaw State off the board and give JU the win.

Six Dolphins recorded a hit in the first game, and both Kari Holzricther and Allison Bratek had two-hit games. For Bratek, she had two extra-base hits in a double and homer to complement three RBIs. Avery Harcus also hit a three-run blast for her second of the season.

While it took Jacksonville until the third inning to get its first hit, the hits came in a flurry. Madison Bratek hit a single through the left side, and Madison Reynolds reached base on an error. Kailey Harrigan followed suit with a double down the left-field line, scoring Bratek from second. Holzrichter continued her hot weekend with a single the same way, which brought home Reynolds. Harcus brought both Holzrichter and Harrigan home with a blast to left-center, blowing the game wide open at 5-0. Allison Bratek then took an 0-2 pitch and sent it over the left-field fence to cap a six-run inning for the Dolphins.

After a scoreless fourth inning, Harrigan started the fifth being hit by the first pitch of the inning. The lefty hitter Holzrichter then slapped a single the other way, and both runners, Veronica Puckett and Dacie Watterson who joined as pinch runners, stood in scoring position. Allison Bratek then hit a double to center field and scored both baserunners, thus giving JU an 8-0 lead.

Harpe surrendered a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth inning, but she shut the door there, and Jacksonville ended game one of the doubleheader in five innings.

GAME TWO
The Dolphins completed their sweep of the Owls in a thriller of a game three that saw the game go 10 innings, with JU ending up on the winning side 8-7.

Alison Carter finished the game with four hits and the clutch, go-ahead double in the 10th inning to give JU the lead for good. Skylar Waggoner (4-7) pitched 9.2 innings and picked up her fourth victory of the season in doing so. She struck out six batters on the afternoon.

Unlike game one, game two had offense immediately from both sides. The Dolphins put up a two-spot in the top of the first inning. Madison Bratek got things started with a double down the left-field line, and subsequently advanced to third on a wild pitch. After a Madison Reynolds walk, Kailey Harrigan hit a sacrifice fly, bringing home Bratek from third and allowing Reynolds to end up on third from the throw and an error from the Owls infield. Kari Holzrichter reached on an error directly after, which brought home Reynolds from third and gave JU its 2-0 lead.

Kennesaw State found its first runs of the afternoon in the bottom of the inning. The first two Owls reached on a single and an error. After a groundout to third, a double to left-center brought home a pair of runs and tied the game, 2-2. A pair of singles after brought home another run and gave KSU the 3-2 lead.

The next three frames saw no runners score for either side, and the game entered the fifth still with KSU ahead by a single run. Averi Harcus hit in Allison Bratek, who had reached on a walk prior, to tie the game at three apiece. In the bottom of the inning, the Owls struck hard for three runs. A leadoff single led to a go-ahead single two batters later, which led to a two-run shot to establish a three-run lead, 6-3.

After a scoreless sixth inning, the Dolphins sparked a rally in the top of the seventh. Allison Bratek started the frame off with a walk, then, Alison Carter and Gabi Robles singled to give JU three ducks on the pond and nobody out. Averi Harcus followed up her teammates with a single up the middle, advancing all runners up a base. Lindsey Chadwick then reached on a fielder's choice, but Carter scored from third. To cap the rally, Madison Bratek reached on an error by the Owls' third baseman, which brought home the third run of the inning and tied the game.

After the Owls failed to walk off the game in the bottom of the seventh, the game went into extra innings. Both sides scored once each in the top of the eighth, and neither team scored in the ninth.

Cue Alison Carter. With the new softball extra innings rules in place, Jazz Jones started on second base. After a quick groundout from Allison Bratek moved Jones to third, Carter hit a laser to center in a huge moment to give the Dolphins a one-run lead. A single up the middle from Robles saw a bang-bang play at the plate, with Carter tagged out, but the damage had already been done. Waggoner entered the circle for the 10th inning, and sat the Owls down 1-2-3 to clinch the extra innings victory for the Dolphins.

UP NEXT
The Dolphins return to action on Wednesday, April 3 in Statesboro, Georgia, for a doubleheader with Georgia Southern. Game one is slated for a 4 pm first pitch time, and both games can be streamed on ESPN+.