JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville's eight-game winning streak came to a halt Friday night, as North Florida walked it off in the ninth to take game one, 5-4, at Harmon Stadium.
For eight innings, the Dolphins were held in check. Jacksonville managed just one hit through the first eight frames and found itself trailing 4-1 entering the ninth, despite creating traffic throughout the night.
The Dolphins had multiple opportunities to break through earlier, putting runners on first and second with no outs three separate times, including chances in both the fifth and seventh innings, but were unable to deliver the timely hit.
North Florida built its lead with single runs across four innings, taking advantage of early traffic against Alex Walsh, who worked 3.2 innings in the start. The Ospreys added to it in the fifth to stretch the margin to three.
Jacksonville finally broke through in the ninth.
Logan Baratta opened the inning with a walk, and Conner Spelman followed with a single to put two on. After a flyout, Blake Edmonds delivered in a big spot, driving a double to right field to bring home a run and move the tying run into scoring position.
Cade Walter followed with an RBI groundout to pull the Dolphins within one, before Sammy Mummau came through with the biggest swing of the night a game-tying RBI double to left, knotting the score at 4-4 and extending his hitting streak to 14 games.
But the momentum was short-lived.
North Florida answered in the bottom half, using a one-out double and a two-out RBI single to walk it off and secure the 5-4 win.
Despite the loss, Conner Spelman reached base three times and extended his hitting streak to seven games, while Roger Vergara continued his consistency at the plate with a hit in 36 of 43 games this season.
Jacksonville will look to bounce back in game two as the series continues Saturday at 6 pm.
