UNF falls to EKU, JU loses to JSU in ASUN baseball tournament pool play; will meet in second game
The University of North Florida and Jacksonville University will meet for the sixth time this season and for the second year in a row in the post-season at 4:35 p.m. Wednesday in the ASUN baseball tournament's pool play.
The Ospreys and Dolphins both lost first-round games on Tuesday in Fort Myers, UNF falling 5-3 to Eastern Kentucky and JU losing 8-4 to Jacksonville State in Pool B games.
Earlier on Wednesday, EKU beat Jacksonville State 8-4 and will play the Dolphins on Thursday at 7 p.m. Since Eastern Kentucky holds the head-to-head tiebreaker in pool play over UNF, the Ospreys are the first team eliminated in Pool B. Only the winner emerges for the semifinals on Friday, while three of the four Pool A teams will advance, thanks to their higher RPI
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Eastern Kentucky (36-19) stitched together a pair of two-run innings back-to-back and Will Brian got out of a ninth-inning jam to record his conference-leading 15th save as the Colonels slipped past UNF (21-33) at JetBlue Park.
JU (27-26), the defending conference champions, were battered by JSU shortstop Isaac Alexander's 4-for-5, four-RBI night. The game was delayed nearly three hours by thunderstorms and didn't finish until 1:16 a.m. on Wednesday.
RECAP | It was a long, late night, and we came up short in game one of the @ASUNBSB Championship#JUPhinsUphttps://t.co/SqKbpvRK0z
— Jacksonville Baseball (@JUBaseball) May 25, 2022
JU took the regular-season series from UNF 3-2, with the final game washed out by storms on May 15 and not made up. UNF won the series 2-1 at home and the Dolphins won both games at JU.
The Dolphins beat UNF 8-5 in 11 innings last year at Harmon Stadium in the ASUN winner's bracket finals, then went on to top Liberty 7-3 in the championship game. This will be the 14th meeting in the last two years between the two crosstown rivals, with UNF holding an 8-5 edge.
The game will be the 90th meeting between JU and UNF. The Dolphins hold a 47-42 edge. The two teams have played six times in the ASUN tournament, with JU winning five. Four of the Dolphins' five victories over the Ospreys in the post-season have been by one run or in extra innings.
"No one knows each other better than we do," UNF coach Tim Parenton said before the tournament.
UNF took a 1-0 lead in the first against EKU when Isaiah Byars singled, moved to third on walks to Brock Edge and Cade Westbrook and scored on Aidan Sweatt's sacrifice fly.
Eastern Kentucky tied it in the bottom of the first on Will King's sacrifice fly, trailing a single by Max Williams and a double by Logan Thomson.
The Colonels went ahead for good with two runs in the fifth on RBI hits by King and Conner Davis and extended the lead to 5-1 in the sixth on Thomson's RBI double and a sacrifice fly by Kendal Ewell.
The Ospreys got two in the seventh, highlighted by Westbrook's RBI single. But UNF got only one more baserunner after that when Justin Holmes doubled off Brian to lead off the ninth. But Byars lined out to center and Brian, who is second in the nation in saves, fanned Edge and Sequera to end the game.
The Dolphins also took a 1-0 lead in their game, on Jake Berg's RBI single in the first. But the Gamecocks (27-27) stormed to a 5-1 lead, with Alexander drilling an RBI double in the fourth and a two-run double in the fifth.
.@JUBaseball is right back in the thick of it as Chase Malloy brings in a pair of his friends 🐬🐬#ASUNBSB ⚾️ | @The_real_CM10 | #JUPhinsUp 🐬 pic.twitter.com/FRHJTn7hKZ
— ASUN Baseball⚾ (@ASUNBSB) May 25, 2022
After JU cut the lead to 5-4 on Chase Malloy's two-run single and Blake DeLamielleure's RBI hit in the fifth, JSU got some breathing room with three in the seventh, the last run coming on Alexander's run-scoring single.
Dylan Hathcock (3-5) pitched the first 4.2 innings to get the victory and A.J. Causey threw 1.2 innings of hitless relief for his ninth save. JU's Mason Adams (5-4) struck out nine batters in 6.1 innings but gave up seven hits and five earned runs.
RUMBLE IN THE POST-SEASON
Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida have met in the ASUN baseball tournament six times prior to today's meeting. The results of those games:
2021: JU 8, UNF 5 (11 innings).
2018: JU 4, UNF 3
2017: JU 8, UNF 5
2015: UNF 8, JU 3
2014: JU 7, UNF 6 (10 innings)
2010: JU 9, UNF 8
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: UNF will play JU in ASUN baseball tournament after both lose opening games
