JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In a day littered with web gems and highlights from the Jacksonville Dolphins, the program advanced in the ASUN Tournament with a 6-2 win over FGCU.
The #4 Dolphins bested #5 FGCU for the fifth time this season in the second round of the conference championship tournament. The victory pushes Jacksonville to a meeting with #1 Central Arkansas on Thursday, May 7 hosted at noon at the University of North Florida.
Before the Dolphins slapped their name on the next line of the ASUN Tournament poster, the team first had to get through a team they knew all too well. Earning the postseason start in the circle,
Jacy Harrelson faced the Eagles for the seventh time this year. And it was the Eagles who got the best of the ASUN Pitcher of the Year, knocking in a solo homer to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.
But Jacksonville responded in a big way.
Redshirt sophomore
Tatum McCool got ahold of a pitch in the bottom of the frame that saw McCool to second and freshman
Emma Mansfield trotting home.
Reese Wells then smacked a ball through the infield to score McCool, giving JU a quick 2-1 advantage.
The scoring was far from over, as ASUN Freshman of the Year
Jaida Thomas annihilated a ball to the outfield for Jacksonville's second double of the inning to score Wells.
ASUN First-Team member
Sarah Beth Brake finished the scoring outburst with a sac-fly to score Thomas, giving JU a 4-1 lead heading into the third inning.
It was
Lindsey Chadwick's turn to gas up the team in the third. She did so behind a solo homer to left field – her second home run in as many games.
FGCU got a single run in the fourth, but that was all the Eagles could manage against the stout defense of JU and the strong arm of Harrelson.
In the top of the sixth, playing left field in the place of Wells who left the game earlier due to injury,
Kate Linkletter tracked a foul ball well beyond the foul line and almost into the UNF facility bullpen. Throwing her body against the side of the foul wall, Linkletter snagged an out worthy of a handful of ESPN replays.
In the bottom of the frame, Brake connected on the team's third double of the afternoon to score a run and push the game to its final score.
The score almost wasn't 6-2 however, as in the top of the seventh with two outs, the Eagles smacked a ball to as deep of center as possible.
Eyeing it the whole time, Thomas leaped the entire length of the outfield siding, extending her glove well over and beyond the wall to save a would-be home run. Thomas' out ended the game and saw the freshman mobbed in deep center by her team. It was then Thomas who led the Dolphin contingency postgame in placing her program's nameplate on the tournament poster.
Jacksonville's power players got it done Wednesday. The team collected seven total hits, including four from the team's six through ninth batters. Brake led the game with her two RBIs. In the circle, Harrelson earned her 21
st starting win of the season, tossing a complete game and striking out three. She did not walk a single batter.
Jacksonville has now won games in two straight ASUN Tournaments and will look to make it three wins in two years when the face the top seeded Sugar Bears from the Gold Division.
JU and UCA did not meet in the regular season but will square off at noon on ESPN+ at the UNF Softball Complex on Thursday, May 7.
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