JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The only 10 anyone saw in Debbie and Fredd Pruitt Softball Complex Saturday was the 10 total runs Jacksonville scored in its pair of wins over Tennessee Tech.
The Dolphins won both games of their doubleheader, 3-1 and 7-1 respectively, moving to 3-0 in JU/UNF Classic Tournament play. The Dolphins are now 10-8 overall on the year ahead of two final games Sunday morning.
Jacksonville and DePaul will start at 9 a.m., resuming in the top of the fifth inning after the previous iteration of the game was postponed due to rain. DePaul will start the game up 4-1. The second game will be played 30 to 45 minutes after the conclusion of the makeup game and will serve as the final contest of the tournament.
JU started its Saturday with a 3-1 victory, coming back from an early 1-0 deficit in the top of the first.
Down a run,
Alison Carter stepped up the plate and launched a double down the left field line to tie the game. In the fifth,
Kiersten Stevens knocked a double for the go-ahead run before a sixth-inning
Maci Burkhart RBI-single finished off the day.
Jacksonville amassed just five hits in the win.
Kate Linkletter led the team with a 2-3 showing, both of her hits being doubles.
Jacy Harrelson and
Jordan White (4-3) helped the team to the win, with Harrelson earning the afternoon start. The sophomore went 3 1/3, striking out a pair. White came on and also fanned two, allowing just one hit.
In the second game, Jacksonville's bats exploded for a season-high three home runs in one game. Again down 1-0, freshman
Jaida Thomas blasted her first career homer to left center to tie the game.
In the fourth,
Sarah Beth Brake hit the team's second jack to left. Then in the fifth,
Lindsey Chadwick took a softball flying out to left for a grand slam. For good measure in the sixth,
Elizabeth Harley snuck home on a fielder's choice.
As a team, JU had seven hits with three being bombs. The freshman Thomas was stellar Saturday evening, going 3-4 with one RBI. Chadwick's grand slam led the two-game series for total RBIs and outpaced the entire TTU scoring production.
Outside of hitting a double at the plate,
Reese Wells earned the win on the mound for her first of the year (1-0). She allowed just one hit over six innings of work and struck out three. In two games, JU pitchers allowed just five total Golden Eagle hits.
Jacksonville has now won three in a row heading into the final day of tournament play. Heading into the final two games, Linkletter continues to lead the JU bats with a team-high .439 batting average, 18 hits and 13 RBIs. Harrelson leads the pitching staff with a 2.87 ERA and 35 total Ks.