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The Jacksonville University Dolphins baseball team is set to play in the NCAA Gainesville Regional on Friday to begin tournament play. Jacksonville opens the weekend facing the Florida Atlantic University Owls.
WE ARE GAINESVILLE BOUND! Our first test will be No. 3 seed Florida Atlantic Friday, June 1 at 6:30 p.m! #JUPhinsUp #NCAACWS pic.twitter.com/UgFHJxGHoy
— Jacksonville Baseball (@JUBaseball) May 28, 2018
Successful Second Year
Jacksonville finished the season with a 39-19 record behind second-year head coach Chris Hayes. After winning the ASUN regular season title in 2017, Hayes has had led the Dolphins to their first tournament since 2011.
In Hayes’ two years as the Dolphins’ skipper, he holds a 75-43 career record.
Jacksonville had been on an eight-game win streak before losing the teams final two games in the A-SUN tournament. They would suffer defeates to Stetson and the University of North Florida.
The Dolphins came into Gainesville earlier in the season and knocked off the top ranked Gators 8-4 behind a three hit night from Chris Lehane and four RBI’s from John Cassala.
Hayes’ team finished second in the ASUN conference this season with a 14-6 conference record.
Dolphin Stats
Chris Gau will be starting on the mound tomorrow according to Hayes.
Gau holds an 8-3 record on the season in 15 starts. He posts a 2.65 ERA over 105.1 innings of work, while recording 91 strikeouts.
At the plate, the Dolphins are led by Scott Dubrule, who is batting .358 with 52 RBI’s. Dubrule is one of six Dolphins hitters to bat over .300 on the year.
Jacob Southern is the team’s leader in homeruns with seven. Angel Camacho has 56 RBI’s on the year, which leads the team.
The Dolphins is batting .292 as a team for the year and is averaging 6.1 runs a game. The pitching staff has a collective 5.63 ERA.
What Lies Ahead
Ultimately, if Jacksonville wins on Friday night, the team will face the winner of the Columbia vs. Florida match-up on Saturday at 7 p.m. Finally, if the Dolphins lose, Jacksonville would be facing elimination against the loser of Columbia vs. Florida, taking place Saturday at 1 p.m.
