Date Posted: 3/27/2008

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Some old hands and new faces were abundant as the Dolphins rallied from a three-run deficit to snap a five-game slide as the JU baseball team defeated No. 18 Florida, 8-5, in front of 2,312 fans at John Sessions Stadium on Wednesday.

The Dolphins (14-8) split the season series by bouncing back from an 11-6 defeat last night in Gainesville. The Gators (18-5) dropped their second in a row on the JU campus after falling to the Dolphins, 7-2, in 2002.

"I'm proud of the way we came out and competed tonight," said JU head Terry Alexander. "I hope we have turned a corner and left our recent bad stretch behind us. I'm excited to get back into conference play with this momentum."

JU reliever Matt Davis (1-1) earned the win by tossing a scoreless seventh inning, while Tim Brown retired six of his eight batters to earn his first save of the season and fifth of his career. Glenn Witkowski tossed three scoreless innings and Garrett Dunlap allowed five runs on four hits, while striking out four to earn a no-decision.

Florida reliever Kyle Mullaney (0-2) was tagged with the loss after allowing three runs (one earned) on two hits and two strikeouts in 2/3-innings of work. Dustin Bamberg pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings, while starter Stephen Locke surrendered two runs on three hits in three innings for the no-decision.

Chuck Opachich paced the JU offense by going 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored. Jeremy Gillian and Matt Lopez would also finish with two hits, while Kevin Ferreira extended his hitting streak to 16 games.

Florida was led offensively by Jon Townsed who went 3-fo-5 with two RBI. Matt den Dekker added two hits, while Cole Figueroa and Bamberg each drove in a run.

Related Links:
 • Full Article at JUDolphins.com
 • Jacksonville-Florida Box Score