Florida Sports Wires

Special to Florida Sports Wires  JACKSONVILLE (www.jaxsportsnews.com) – Brandon Lockridge bookended his day with run-scoring doubles in a five-RBI performance to help the Nashville Sounds defeat the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 8-4 Friday afternoon at VyStar Ballpark Lockridge’s final blow arrived in the eighth with Nashville (70-59, 27-27) leading Jacksonville (65-63, 23-41) 5-3. Two walks to Tyler Black and Jacob Hurtubise, along with a fielder’s choice groundball from Daniel Guilarte on which the Jacksonville infield failed to record an out, loaded the base for Lockridge, who cleared the bases with a double down the left field line to set the final margin at 8-4. Nashville made landfall first with a two-run top of the second. Hurtubise reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a Guilarte walk. Lockridge plated them both on a double to the right-center alley to give the Sounds a 2-0 lead. A trio of hits in the third allowed Nashville to add on. Luke Adams, Blake Burke...

By Jeff Moeller, Florida Spotrts Wire JACKSONVILLE (wwwjaxsportsnews.com ) It’s the end of the preseason tonight, and that also means the cutdown day is within reach.  Sunday is the big day at 4 p.m., and GM James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen shouldn’t have too many major decisions in their hands. Gladstone likely will swing a deal or two before it is over. One glaring issue - and it is a good problem - is the Jaguars’ wide receiver room. This season, the predominant offensive message will be clear- throw the ball. Heading into the game, the wide receivers on the Jags’ roster are Jakobi Meyers, Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington, Travis Hunter, CJ Williams, Josh Cameron, Austin Trammell, Tim Jones, Michael Wortham, Trebor Pena, Ben Patterson, Brady Boyd, and Chandler Brayboy.  For once, the Jags are loaded with wide receivers and tight ends, as they will play hand through their passing game. It has worked well with their running game in transition. This has created a po...

By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire JACKSONVILLE (www.jaxsportsnews.com) Nick Mullens’ stock rose. Like a stock, you want to see it rise and feel safe about it. And most times, don't touch it. It's just another reminder of the NFL backup quarterback.  After his performance against New Orleans in the preseason opener, Mullens certainly caused some queasy stomachs for Jaguars’ fans.  He was 3-for-7 for 33 yards and an interception. This is the same backup quarterback designated behind Trevor Lawrence. Did you feel good about that? Mullens redeemed himself with a 6-for-7, 65-yard performance against Carolina last week. Probably the most important player behind our starting quarterback is your backup quarterback.  Yes, you can make the argument that a dominant position player is more vital. But how have you felt when Lawrence has been knocked out of a game or has to leave for a number of plays?   Talk about a nervous stomach or agita.  You were probably wonde...

Special to Florida Sports Wires JACKSONVILLE (www.jaxsportsnews.com)  – Miami Marlins right-handed pitcher Anthony Bender is scheduled to join the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Tuesday to begin an injury rehabilitation assignment with the club’s 7:45 p.m. ET first pitch at the Memphis Redbirds from AutoZone Park. Bender was placed on the injured list on June 30 with a right shin stress reaction. He had pitched in 35 games for Miami prior to his injury, going 1-1 with a 2.62 ERA. Over 34.1 innings, the 31-year-old had yielded only 21 hits and 12 walks while striking out 41.  A native of Petaluma, Calif., Bender was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 20th round of the 2016 draft out of Santa Rosa Junior College (Calif.). He reached as high as High-A Wilmington in the Royals’ organization before getting released during Spring Training in 2019.  Bender latched on with independent Sioux City of the American Association, pitching in two games before signing a m...

By Jeff Moeller, Florida SportsWire (www.jaxsportsday.com) - It was important to see the Jaguars mount their comeback against the Saints and pull out a 24-20 victory. The game certainly can serve as a motivator as well as ignitor for the rest of the preseason. However, this is preseason where the outcome of the games really doesn't matter. Instead, it’s the old-time adage on how you got there. For the Jaguars, hopefully, it is a true indicator and not just one based on facing second- third-, and fourth-stringers. What the Jaguars need this summer is to establish their running game. Against the Saints, they may have taken the first step. Behind rookie, free agent J’Mari Taylor, the Jags ran for 118 yards on 36 carries. Taylor paced the field with a workmanlike 78 yards on 22 carries.  When you look at 118 yards, it doesn’t seem like much. But the 36 carries are the difference. The heavy-pass offense Jags threw just 25 times behind the backup core of Nick Mullens, Joey Aguilar, and ...

Special to Jax Sports News JACKSONVILLE (www.thefloridasportswire.com) – The Syracuse Mets rallied in the eighth inning to defeat the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 4-3 Saturday night at VyStar Ballpark in front of 7,435 fans.  MJ Melendez (14) slugged a solo homer off Jacksonville (59-58, 17-26) reliever Jack Ralston (L, 5-2) with one out in the top of the eighth to give Syracuse (58-60, 20-23) the lead for good.  Syracuse opened the scoring in the top of the first against Jumbo Shrimp starter Karson Milbrandt after Melendez walked and Ronny Mauricio (14) slugged a two-run home run to center field to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.  Johnny Olmstead (8) cut the deficit to 2-1 in the second with a solo homer off Syracuse starter Kevin Herget. Jacksonville knotted the score at three in the sixth with a two-out rally. Cam Cannarella singled and Deyvison De Los Santos (17) launched a two-run homer to right. Once Syracuse retook the lead, Chris Devenski (SV, 1) earned his first save wit...

Special to Jax Sports News FORT LAUDERDALE (www.thefloridasportswire.com) - The Sporting JAX women’s team made a season-opener statement against Fort Lauderdale United FC with a 1-0 win, taking the lead in the 89th minute after a scoreless first half. The late game-winning goal came from Baylee DeSmit, one of Sporting JAX’ stars in their inaugural season. “It feels great,” said DeSmit. “I hope it’s just the beginning, but obviously it feels great to get that win under our belt to start off, and be able to provide for the team like that.” DeSmit had a strong start to her professional career in the 2025/26 season, where she made 25 appearances with 12 goals and two assists. Her 12 goals brought her even with teammate Ashlyn Puerta, the 2025/26 Player of the Year recipient, for the most goals on the team. The women will head back to Hodges Stadium for their home opener against another familiar in-state rival, Tampa Bay Sun FC.  Sporting JAX has gone 7-0-2 against their Sunshine State...