Feb. 23, 2003

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - JU junior centerfielder Rob Hudson (Garden City, Mich.) went a combined 5-for-8 with five RBI and extended his hitting streak to seven games as the Dolphins split an Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheader against Samford by winning the first game, 9-6, and dropping the nightcap, 10-8, Sunday at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Hudson went 1-for-3 with a career-high three RBI in the first game and had a career-high four hits in the second game.

In game one, the Dolphins (3-5, 2-1 A-Sun) rallied back from a three-run deficit then held off a Bulldog rally in the seventh to clinch the series. Senior leftfielder Chad Hauseman (Pottstown, Pa.) went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI, while junior shortstop Orlando Diaz (Downers Grove, Ill.) extended his hitting streak to seven games with his third home run of the season. Sophomore designated hitter Alex Jamieson (Sarasota, Fla.) hit his second home run of the year as he and junior rightfielder Clint Hart (Jacksonville/Paxon) each went 3-for-4.

Samford (3-6, 1-2) got on the board early, scoring three runs off JU starter Darren Truty (Marengo, Ill.) in the first inning and one more in the second before chasing the Dolphins' righty. However, sophomore Brett Nagy (Jacksonville/Bolles) held the Bulldogs scoreless until the seventh, going 4.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out three to earn his first win of the season.

Trailing 4-1 in the third, junior third baseman Larry Best-Berfet (Newark, N.J.) laced a two-out single to right and Hauseman followed with a two-run blast to left-center to cut the lead to 4-3. The Dolphins then tied the game in the fourth on Jamieson's lead-off homer to right. JU came up with another big two-out rally in the fifth as Hauseman and Diaz hit back-to-back solo shots to chase Samford starter Frank Allen Yeilding (1-1), who gave up more home runs in the game (4) than he had all of last season (3). Jamieson then singled off Bulldog reliever Stephen Artz, while Hart and Hudson followed with back-to-back RBI doubles. Freshman first baseman Donald Brickle (Jacksonville/ACDS) reached on an error which allowed Hudson to score and cap a five-run inning for the Dolphins.

Nagy (1-0) ran into trouble in the seventh, allowing a pair of runs and left the game with runners on second and third and no outs. Junior Bobby Bowman (Pell City, Ala.) came in to squash the Bulldog rally by striking out the side and record his second save of the season. Kip Snowden led Samford by going 3-for-4, while Matt Alling and Eric Hollis, who had three RBI, each went 2-for-4.

In the second game, the Dolphins jumped on the board early with three unearned runs in the first inning off Samford starter Ehren Wassermann. However, the Bulldogs answered back as JU starter Josh Deel (Jacksonville/Wolfson) lasted only one-third of an inning, allowing four runs on four hits. Both teams settled down as Brickle came in for relief of Deel and kept the score 4-3 until the bottom of the fifth.

The Bulldogs scored three runs in the fifth and three more in the seventh to take a 10-5 lead heading into the top of the ninth. The Dolphins mounted a two-out rally in the ninth when Hudson led off with a single and junior designated hitter Joe Steward (Ottawa, Kan.) walked. Sophomore Tom Alford (Jacksonville/Orange Park) followed with an RBI single and second baseman Robby Cichra (Plano, Texas) walked to load the bases. Sophomore Chris Kelly (Sarasota, Fla.) delivered a pinch-hit, two-run single to cut the Samford lead to 10-8, but Hauseman flied out to left to end the game.

Wassermann (1-2) allowed five runs, only two earned, on seven hits in 7.0 innings to pick up the win. Hollis and Robert Evans, who had three RBI, each went 3-for-5 for the Bulldogs, while Alling went 2-for-5.

Diaz went 0-for-5 to snap his seven-game hitting streak, but reached on an error. JU left 12 men on base, including leaving the bases loaded in the fifth and the eighth, and committed a season-high four errors.

The Dolphins hit the road to face Georgia Southern on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Ga., before returning home to host North Florida on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Alexander Brest Field.