CHARLOTTE, N.C.–  Jacksonville baseball opened its ASUN series play at Queens with a statement, erupting late in a 17-5 win over the Royals on Friday night at Richard "Stick" Williams Dream Field.

Jacksonville (11-11, 2-2 ASUN) broke open a tight game with 15 runs over the final four innings, turning a one-run deficit into a runaway win over Queens (4-17, 0-4 ASUN).

The Dolphins struck first in the second inning, manufacturing two runs on a pair of sacrifice flies. After Conner Spelman doubled and Sam Grunberg singled to put runners on the corners, Abdiel Delgado lifted a fly ball to center to bring in the game's first run. Later in the inning, Cade Walter added another sacrifice fly to score Grunberg and make it 2-0.

Queens answered in the bottom half of the inning with a sacrifice fly of its own to cut the deficit in half, then evened the game in the third after capitalizing on a Jacksonville error.

The Royals took their first lead of the night in the fifth inning on a solo home run, going in front 3-2.

Jacksonville responded immediately in the sixth and never looked back.

Derek Bermudez led off the inning with a solo home run to center to tie the game.
 

After back-to-back singles from Spelman and Grunberg, Delgado delivered the go-ahead blow with a two-run double to left center.
 

Later in the frame, Archer Ogbourne extended the lead with a two-RBI triple to right center, giving the Dolphins a 7-3 advantage.
 

Queens trimmed the lead to 7-4 in the bottom of the sixth and got within two runs in the seventh on a solo home run, but Jacksonville continued to answer.

The Dolphins added a run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Bermudez before Logan Baratta followed with an RBI double to push the lead to 9-5.

Jacksonville then broke the game open with a six-run eighth inning. Delgado added two more RBIs with a single, while Sammy Mummau and Walter each drove in runs to extend the lead to 13-5.

The Dolphins capped the scoring with four runs in the ninth, highlighted by an RBI single from Grunberg and three bases-loaded walks from Walter, Ogbourne, and Roger Vergara.

NOTABLES

• Jacksonville scored 15 runs over the final four innings after trailing 3-2 in the fifth. 
• The Dolphins finished with 16 hits and 12 walks
• Abdriel Delgado led the offense with five RBIs, his season high.
• Sam Grunberg went 3-for-4 with four runs scored, setting a new career high in runs and matching his hit total from the March 7th game vs UNCW.
• Sammy Mummau recorded three hits, tying his career-high
• Logan Baratta posted a multi-hit game with two doubles
• Archer Ogbourne delivered a key two-RBI triple in the sixth

ON THE MOUND

• Alex Walsh struck out 10 batters in his start, setting the tone early. He earned the win in the effort, improving his record to 4-2.
• Walsh kept Jacksonville within striking distance before the offensive surge
• Dominic Pieto was strong in relief, shutting things down late to secure the win. He earned a saved, his first of the year.

UP NEXT

Jacksonville continues the series against Queens on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

[Watch Live – https://queensathletics.com/showcase/embed.aspx?Live=200]