JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- Jacksonville Baseball (19-20, 13-6 ASUN) defeated Queens (11-31, 7-12 ASUN) on Friday night 5-2 to take game one of the weekend series. 

A strong outing from Richard Long and 11 hits from the Dolphins offense led Jacksonville to a series opening victory. 

Long started on the bump for the Dolphins, giving Jacksonville seven strong innings, giving up two runs off four hits, one walk and 11 strikeouts. The Middleburg native earned the win on the night, his fourth of the season. "Really proud of Richard Long for another outstanding Friday night outing and then for Tommy Allman to come in and hold them scoreless, it's just great work by both guys." Head Coach Chris Hayes commented postgame.

Chandler Howard got the 'Phins on the board in the second with a solo shot that cleared the right field fence. Jacksonville wasn't done in the inning though; Joshua Steidl and Tyler Hinrikus both added a base hit to get a pair of runners on for the 'Phins. Cade Hentz came up to bat and lined a single to score Steidl and give Jacksonville a 2-0 advantage.

Queens added a run in the third, but Long avoided any further damage after ending the inning with a pickoff move to first. 

Hentz added another RBI in the fourth after he drove in Steidl once again on a single to extend the lead to 3-1.

In the sixth inning, Hentz drove in his third RBI of the day, again driving in Steidl on a base knock. Will Gale picked up a RBI after he drove in Hinrikus on a perfectly executed bunt to make it 5-1 Dolphins. 

The Royals responded in the top of the seventh with a solo shot, but Long finished the inning with his 11th punchout, setting a personal career-high for strikeouts in a game. 

Tommy Allman relieved Long in the eighth inning and held the Royals scoreless in the final two frames to earn his first career save. 

"I'm happy with how our bats performed, freshman Cade Hentz had some really impactful hits, and Steidl and Gale delivered as well. Our guys need to be ready to continue to compete the rest of the weekend and we are excited for an opportunity to clinch the series tomorrow." further commented Hayes.

Jacksonville returns to John Sessions Stadium tomorrow night for game two of the conference weekend series against Queens. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM.