The Jacksonville Dolphins shut out the Liberty Flames 8-0, Wednesday in Pool A play at the ASUN Baseball Championship at Melching Field at Conrad Park.

Despite one timely hit through the first seven innings, Jacksonville was able to take a 3-0 lead in the pitchers’ duel, taking advantage of free passes by the Flames, before breaking the contest open with four runs in the eighth.

ASUN Freshman of the Year Evan Chrest scattered four hits and stranded Flames on third base in three different innings before leaving due to a lengthy weather delay between the fifth and sixth innings. The Jacksonville right-hander struck out seven and walked one.

Liberty drops to 1-1 in pool play at the ASUN Championship and 27-29 on the season. Jacksonville evens its record to 1-1 in pool play and 34-23 overall on the year.

Box Score Highlights
Records: Jacksonville (34-23); Liberty (27-29)
Location: DeLand, Fla. (Melching Field at Conrad Stadium)
WP: Evan Chrest (8-2) | LP: Trey Cooper (2-3)

Scoring Summary
1^st INNING – JU – Armstrong flies out, Malloy scores, 1-0
4^th INNING – JU – Joseph doubles, DeLamielleure and Armstrong score, 3-0
8^th INNING – JU – DeLamielleure singles, Armstrong scores, 4-0
8^th INNING – JU – Howard flies out, Nadeau scores, 5-0
8^th INNING – JU – Wetterau singles, Joseph and DeLamielleure score, 7-0
9^th INNING – JU – Joseph reaches on a fielder’s choice, Flowers scores, 8-0

Notable Numbers
– Jacksonville outhit Liberty, 6-5, in the game. Jacksonville committed the game’s only error.
– Liberty left seven men on base. Lipscomb left eight men on base.
– No Flame had more than one hit in the contest.
– Liberty was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
– Dolphins relievers Leighton Alley and Jack Carver combined to not allow a run over the last four innings.
– Second baseman Justin Nadeau had two hits and scored a run for Jacksonville. Left fielder Tommy Joseph drove in three runs.

Beyond the Box Score
– The game started at 10:30 a.m. after a weather delay. Later in the contest, the contest was delayed again, this time 2 hours and six minutes, before the top of the sixth inning.
– Center fielder Kane Kepley had a single in the game and extends his hitting streak to eight consecutive games. He has now reached base safely in 16 consecutive contests.
– Second baseman Gray Betts tripled in the contest. The senior is third on Liberty’s all-time list with 260 hits.

Next Up
After an off day tomorrow, Liberty will play the No. 2 seed FGCU Eagles to conclude pool play on Friday. Game time is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Melching Field at Conrad Park.

Featured in Main Photo: Gray Betts slides into third with a triple.