MACON, Ga. -- The Jacksonville Dolphins' softball team split its pair of games to open the Mercer Invitational Friday.
To start tournament play, JU defeated Alabama State 7-3 before falling to UConn 7-0. The Dolphins now own a record of 7-5 before a pair of games Saturday.
Dolphins Win Fifth Straight
Against Alabama State, Jacksonville scored four runs in one inning in as unconventional a way as possible: all through walks.
ASU loaded the bases full of Dolphin runners and proceeded to walk four consecutive batters to put JU up 4-0 without ever swinging the bat. Tatum McCool, Lindsey Chadwick, Kiersten Stevens and Jazz Jones all drew walks in the first inning to score just enough runs to defeat the Hornets.
For good measure, Chadwick hit an RBI groundout in the second to score a run. Alison Carter also joined in during the second frame with an RBI single herself.
JU allowed a run in the third via fielding error but answered at the plate in the fifth with a Jones RBI single.
On the mound, freshman Karson Johnson earned the win (1-1) with her best performance of the year. Johnson went five innings and allowed just two hits and one earned run. She struck out three batters in 18 at bats.
Coming in in relief, fellow freshman Hailey Strunk tossed a pair of innings and struck out a trio as well.
Jacksonville out-hit ASU 8-3, led by a 3-4 showing from Gabby Baylog. Baylog led the team in hits and scored runs (two). Chadwick, Carter and Jones each had two hits. Jones went a perfect 2-2 at the plate, with two RBIs and two walks. McCool and Averi Harcus also drew a pair of walks.
The Dolphins had just two strikeouts all day.
Eight hits against ASU represented the squad's second-best hitting performance of the season, trailing the 11 hits put up against Western Carolina to open the season. The team's seven RBIs also tied for second best.
Winning five in a row was the team's longest win streak since a seven-game win streak from March 25, 2024, to April 7. Jacksonville moved to 3-0 all time against Alabama State with the win.
Dolphins Fall In Rematch To UConn
After defeating UConn at home 7-1 in the JU/UNF Invitational, the Huskies got the best of the Dolphins in the rematch game.
UConn got ahead in the first with a three-run homer, later hitting another three-run shot in the fifth.
Whereas hits were aplenty against ASU, they were sparse against UConn with only three hits coming from green and white bats.
Haley Fox, Raygan Dixon and Carter were the triplet of players to earn hits. Jacksonville drew two walks and struck out six times.
On the bump, Reese Wells earned her first loss of the season (1-1) and pitched 2 1/3 innings. Jacy Harrelson came on to pitch 2 1/3 innings, striking out three.
Skylar Waggoner closed the game out with 1 1/3 innings of work, striking out a pair.
Dating back to 2011, the series between UConn and JU is now tied 3-3. No team has won two games in a row in the series.
GAME NOTES
- Jacksonville pitchers limited Alabama State to just 1-for-7 (.143) with runners in scoring position.
- Jacksonville pitchers faced 31 Alabama State hitters in the game, allowing 12 ground balls and two fly balls while striking out six.
- Jacksonville pitchers faced 32 UConn hitters in the game, allowing seven ground balls and six fly balls while striking out five.
NEXT UP
Jacksonville continues its run through the Mercer Invitational with a pair of games Saturday, Feb. 22. First, Jacksonville squares off again with Middle Tennessee State at 10 a.m. EST then host Mercer at 12:30 p.m. EST.
Jacksonville defeated MTSU 8-0 at home earlier in the season in the first ever meeting between the two programs. Jacksonville has a 14-18 total record against Mercer dating back to 2003. JU won the last meeting, in 2022, by a score of 13-1.
