JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- Jacksonville (17-19, 11-5 ASUN) took game one of the River City Rumble, defeating rival North Florida (17-18, 7-9 ASUN) in eight innings.

Richard Long started for the Dolphins and pitched an absolute gem. He three a complete game shutout with five strikeouts and only two hits given up. The junior earned his third win of the season after tonight's outing. With Long's complete game victory over UNF, it marks the second consecutive time he's done so in the River City Rumble after last year, where he pitched a nine inning, one run game with five strikeouts.

After a pitching battle through the first three frames, Jacksonville came up to the plate in the fourth looking to break the 0-0 tie. Tyrell Brewer started off things right with a single through the left side. Chandler Howard came up next and took advantage of the overdramatic Osprey shift and lined it to left center for a single to load two runners on early in the inning for the Dolphins. Josh Steidl later in the inning drew a walk off a 3-2 count to load the bases. Freshman Jaden Bastian came up to bat in a critical situation in his first River City Rumble and delivered with a line drive up the middle, scoring Brewer and Howard to put the 'Phins up two.

The 'Phins added to their lead in the bottom of the seventh when Howard drove in Clayton Hodges to extend the lead to three for Jacksonville.

Long set down the Ospreys with no issues in the top half of the eighth, finishing with 100 pitches thrown. The Jacksonville offense came up to bat in the eighth looking to add insurance runs so Long or a arm from the bullpen could wrap things up in the ninth but the Dolphins bats handled business themselves, putting up seven runs in the eighth to end the game due to a run rule. Hodges walked on a 3-0 count with the bases loaded to make it 4-0 and during the next at-bat Cade Hentz came into score off a wild pitch to make it 5-0 Dolphins.

Jacksonville wasn't finished yet, as Howard earned a base-on-balls off a 3-2 count with the bases loaded to add another insurance run for the 'Phins. An error by the Ospreys first basemen scored Brewer and Hodges to extend the lead to eight. Blake Edmonds stepped to the plate in the next at-bat and finished things off with a line drive single back up the middle that scored Steidl and Howard to make it 10-0, effectively ending the game with a unique walk-off win.

What They Said
 
Three Strikes

1. Nine Dolphin batters recorded a hit tonight.
2. Chandler Howard, Jaden Bastian and Blake Edmonds all had a pair of RBIs.
3. Tyrell Brewer drew three walks tonight, marking his eighth straight game with a walk and his fifth multi-walk game within that eight-game stretch.

Up Next

The Dolphins return to John Sessions Stadium tomorrow night to face off with North Florida in round two of the River City Rumble. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM.