JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In the final day of the JU/UNF Classic, Jacksonville softball split a pair of game against DePaul, dropping the team's previously weather-delayed game 5-1 to start Sunday but winning the full scheduled final game 5-3.
The split games moved JU to 11-9 on the season ahead of Wednesday's road test at #10 Florida State.
In the first game – a continuation of Friday's weather delayed contest – Jacksonville fell by four. The team's lone run was score via a
Jaida Thomas homer, her second of her career officially but her first as a Dolphin when the game was being play Friday.
Thomas' hit was one of three for the game for the 'Phins, joined by fellow freshman
Maci Burkhart and graduate
Alison Carter.
Jordan White and
Karson Johnson took to the circle during the game, striking out a combined five batters.
The second game was all Dolphins however, with Jacksonville taking the tournament's final game 5-3. With the win, JU improved to 4-1 overall in tournament play.
Graduate student
Sarah Beth Brake started the scoring in the first with a sac-fly to go ahead 1-0. DePaul responded with two runs in the third before a pair of homers by Carter and
Lindsey Chadwick gave the home squad a 4-2 lead.
The Blue Demons scored a lone run in the fifth, but Jacksonville had yet another answer behind a Brake sac-fly to push the game to its final.
JU amassed seven hits in the game. Chadwick led the clubhouse with a 2-2 showing at the plate. The team's two homers in one game were good for its second best in one contest, behind only its three-home run night against Tennessee Tech Saturday evening.
Sophomore pitcher
Jacy Harrelson (6-4) earned the win in the circle, tossing a complete game. Harrelson struck out seven while allowing just four hits. In her last four appearances, Harrelson has three games with seven or more Ks.
In the weekend's final game, graduate
Kate Linkletter was hit by a pitch, moving her to 10 HBPs this season. That number leads the NCAA landscape in the statistical category.
Offensively, Chadwick had a strong close to the tournament, with five total RBIs and two homers in her final two complete games. Prior to Saturday night's TTU contest and Sunday's full game against DePaul, Chadwick had yet to pick up an RBI.
Jacksonville now has 14 homers on the year, led by Linkletter's and Brake's three each. Four Dolphins, including Chadwick, are tied for second with two jacks.
Next up for the 'Phins is a trip to Florida's capital to face FSU before returning home over the weekend for the Jacksonville Spring Break Challenge starting March 6 at 3:30 p.m. against Georgia Southern.
