JACKSONVILLE (www.sportsdayjax.com) – Jacksonville University baseball won 9-1 to complete the sweep of the Bellarmine Knights on Sunday afternoon at John Sessions Stadium.
The Dolphins (29-18, 13-11) scored in the first five innings and won for a fourth-straight game.
For the Knights in the top of the first inning, a lead off base hit back up the middle immediately gave the Knights a runner at first. Following a strikeout for the first out, Scout Updike hit a batter to put runners on first and second with one away. He then got a 4-6-3 double play to get out of the inning.
Chase Malloy led off the home half of the first with a base hit into left field. Kris Armstrong came up with one away and sent one into the right centerfield gap for a RBI double, to give Jacksonville an early 1-0 lead.
Justin Nadeau kept it going with a base hit into left field and advanced to second on a throwing error to put runners at second and third with one out. Josh Steidl poked a ball out to left field for a two-RBI hit that made 3-0 Dolphins, but he was thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double.
Updike dealt a three-up, three-down inning in the top of the second, and Jacksonville grabbed the bats for the second time. Tommy Joseph led off for Jacksonville and blasted a home run over the right field wall to make it 4-0 Dolphins. Jacksonville couldn’t add to that but gave Updike a comfortable lead going into the third.
The Knights were threatening in the third as the leadoff batter was hit to get them on the base paths. Following a groundout on a fielder’s choice (4-6), the top of the Knights order was up. A base knock into left field put two on. However, Updike was able to work around traffic getting the next two batters out on a fly out to left and a line out to Armstrong at third to strand two as Jacksonville kept their four-run lead.
In the bottom of the third, Jacksonville’s offense kept it going with back-to-back walks to Flowers and Armstrong to put two on with nobody out for Nadeau. He moved the runners on a slow ground out to the pitcher for the first out, bringing up Steidl with a RBI opportunity. He delivered with a sacrifice fly to right scoring Flowers to make it 5-0.
A one-out double for Bellarmine gave the Knights their third hit of the game. After a ground out to third for out number two, Updike hit a batter to put two-on with two-out, but got a ground ball to end the inning as Updike got through four innings without giving up a run.
The Dolphins were looking to add to their 5-0 lead in bottom of the fourth as Joseph sent one back up the middle for a leadoff single. After McIntosh walked, Wetterau put down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up to second and third for top of the Dolphins order. Malloy lifted a fly ball to right centerfield that was good for a sacrifice fly, scoring Joseph to make it 6-0 Dolphins. The Knights got out of it with limited damage, but the Dolphins were cruising.
Jacksonville made a call to the bullpen, with Aiden Kelley called upon to start the fifth. Kelley had no problems in the fifth as he dealt a one-two-three inning.
Nadeau was due to lead off the bottom of the fifth and sent one back up the middle to put the leadoff man on again for Jacksonville. Another base hit, this time into right, by Steidl, put two on with nobody out, setting the table for Blake DeLamielleure, who reached on fielder’s choice to put runners at the corners.
Joseph grabbed a bat and on the first pitch, DeLamielleure stole second base to put two in scoring position. Joseph delivered with an RBI base knock into left field to make it 7-0 and advanced to second base on the throw home to put runners at second and third, still with only one out. McIntosh was next to grab a bat for the Dolphins.
A hard-hit ball to shortstop bounced off the glove for an error as McIntosh reached first safely and scored DeLamielleure from third. With runners still on the corners, Wetterau produced a sacrifice fly into left field to make it 9-0 Dolphins.
Leighton Alley came out to pitch the sixth inning trying to keep the shut out going and did successfully, getting yet another one-two-three inning for the Dolphins.
After the Dolphins failed to score for the first time in the sixth, Chris Lotito came out to pitch in the top of the seventh inning and sent the Knights down on six pitches as the Dolphin pitchers continued to cruise and hold on to the 9-0 lead.
Divine Valle came out to replace Lotito on the mound in the top of the eighth and again, the Dolphin bullpen threw a three-up, three-down inning.
In the top in ninth, Bellarmine scored a run to avoid the shut out.