JACKSONVILLE, FL --Jacksonville Baseball fought back from down 4-3 in the sixth inning to take down the North Florida Ospreys 9-5 Sunday.
Josh Fernald (1-0) earned the win out of the bullpen for Jacksonville (11-8, 2-1), delivering 1.2 shutout innings without allowing a hit, walking none, and striking out three.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Dolphins wasted no time getting on the board, striking early with a three-run first inning. Jacksonville's offense ignited when Chandler Howard ripped a double to left-center, bringing home Jaden Bastian for the game's first run.
The Ospreys then rallied to score four runs, taking a 4-3 lead before the Dolphins responded in the seventh. The rally started with Carson Stevens, who doubled to ignite the offense. Trent Kelly, pinch-running for Stevens, then scored on Jonah Shields' RBI single to right field, tying the game at 4-4. Moments later, senior Josh Steidl came through with a clutch single through the right side, driving in Bastian and putting the Dolphins back on top, 5-4.
Jacksonville then turned to junior Anthony Cordero, who came in and held the Ospreys scoreless in the seventh. However, a weather delay interrupted the action, pushing the game's restart all the way to 4:10 PM.
After the weather delay, Howard picked up right where the Dolphins left off, starting the inning with a hot base hit. The offense continued to roll as Nick DeLisi singled to left field, bringing Howard home to extend the lead to 6-4.
Then, with two on, Bastian blasted a three-run homer to left field, sending the ball deep over the fence and scoring DeLisi and Cade Hentz to make it 9-4.
Following the delay, Nick Anello and Layton Perry came on in relief to seal the win for the Dolphins. Anello pitched a strong inning, and Perry finished things off, ensuring Jacksonville secured the River City Rumble series victory. North Florida added one more run late, but it wasn't enough to mount a comeback as the Dolphins held on for the win.
GAME NOTES
- Howard had three base knocks in the game for Jacksonville.
- Jacksonville's highest scoring inning was the eighth, when it pushed four runs across.
- Dolphin pitchers faced 41 North Florida hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out 10.
- JU went 5-for-12 (.417) with runners in scoring position.
- The Dolphins drew six walks from North Florida pitching.
UP NEXT
The Dolphins hit the road to Gainesville on Tuesday night for a midweek matchup against #7 Florida. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
