JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Interstat) — The South Florida Bulls erupted for six runs in the first inning and rode a series of strong relief performances to an 11-6 victory over the Jacksonville Dolphins on Monday night at John Sessions Stadium.

The Bulls (14-3) sent 10 men to the plate in the opening frame against Jacksonville starter Gavin Dicks. After Ryan Pruitt was hit by a pitch and stole second, Jake Kulikowski drove him in with a single. Matt Rose then provided the decisive blow, launching a three-run homer to left field to cap the early outburst.

Jacksonville (9-8) responded immediately in the bottom half, as Roger Vergara answered with a two-run homer off South Florida starter Nolan Bernard. The Dolphins then chased Bernard in a messy second inning, scoring three more runs, all unearned, on two South Florida errors, a hit batter and RBI singles from Sam Mummau and Vergara to close the gap to 6-5.

The most important part of the game came with two outs in that chaotic second inning. With the bases loaded and the Dolphins having seized momentum, South Florida manager brought in reliever Jorge DeCardenas. The right-hander needed just one pitch to induce an inning-ending groundout from Abdriel Delgado, halting the rally. DeCardenas was brilliant in extended relief, tossing 3 1/3 hitless innings, allowing no earned runs and striking out two to earn the win. His outing stabilized the game for the Bulls after the early turbulence.

South Florida regained its footing in the third, adding two more runs on a sacrifice fly from Jackson Correa and an RBI double from Lance Trippel to make it 8-5. The Bulls’ bullpen took over from there. Following DeCardenas, Ethan Sutton provided three scoreless innings, striking out five, before Jacksonville scratched across a final run on a sacrifice fly from Griffin Pomper in the seventh.

The Bulls added insurance late, with Pruitt delivering an RBI double in the eighth and an unearned run scoring on a Jacksonville error in the ninth.

Rose finished 2 for 3 with the home run, three RBIs and two walks for South Florida, which tallied 13 hits. Kulikowski added two hits, including a triple, and an RBI. Vergara led Jacksonville’s nine-hit attack, going 2 for 5 with the home run and three RBIs.

Jacksonville reliever Austin Williamson provided a bright spot for the Dolphins, throwing 3 1/3 innings of one-hit, shutout ball after the rough start from Dicks. Kyle Hopper also recorded 0.2 perfect innings of relief.

The victory extended South Florida’s winning streak to four games, while Jacksonville dropped its fourth consecutive contest. The national statistical service had projected a South Florida win with a 52.3% probability and an 8-5 final score.

South Florida next hosts a four-game series against Columbia beginning Friday. Jacksonville travels to face West Georgia for a three-game series starting the same day. The two teams will meet again in a rematch next Tuesday in Tampa.