Full Media Notes
Tournament Central With Live Scoring
Preview
For the sixth time in the last seven years and for the 15th time in school history, the Stetson Hatters will compete in the NCAA Tournament. Champions of the Atlantic Sun Conference for the second year in a row, Stetson (38-22) will be the no. 4 seed and will face top-seed and host Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. Friday night at Russ Chandler Stadium. The Yellow Jackets are the no. 8 national seed and the fourth-ranked team in the nation in this week's ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll. No. 2 seed Vanderbilt (36-25) will face no. 3 seed Michigan (42-19) at 3 p.m. to begin the double elimination regional. Junior Chris Ingoglia returns to the starting rotation after serving a team suspension (violation of team rules) during last week's A-Sun tournament. Sophomore RHP Corey Kluber will start against Georgia Tech on Friday night.
The All-Time Series
Georgia Tech leads the all-time series 21-10-1 over Stetson. The teams last met in the 2003 Atlanta Regional, with Stetson pulling a 5-4 upset in the opening round. Meanwhile, the Hatters lead the all-time series 11-3 over Michigan, and have only faced Vanderbilt once, a 5-4 win back in 1971.
Stetson and the NCAA Tournament
All-time, the Hatters are 15-28 in the NCAA Tournament, but have six wins in their last five trips. In last year's NCAA Gainesville Regional, Stetson fell to Florida, the eventual NCAA runner-up, 8-3, and to Notre Dame, 7-4. Three times Stetson has reached the Regional Finals (2000, 01, 03), including twice in Atlanta, but the Hatters have never advanced to a super regional or the College World Series.
Head Coach Pete Dunn
Stetson's Pete Dunn in his 27th season as head coach of the Hatters. He holds a career record of 1002-602-3 (.624). On May 25, Dunn became the 34th Division I coach all-time to record 1000 career victories as Stetson defeated Mercer 6-5 in 11 innings. Dunn has led Stetson to 14 NCAA Division I Regional appearances during his tenure.
A-Sun Tournament Recap
Stetson went a perfect 4-0 in the Atlantic Sun tournament to repeat as conference champions. The Hatters played three consecutive one-run games, winning twice in their last at-bat. Stetson defeated FAU 3-2 with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth on Wednesday, then defeated Mercer with a bases loaded single in the bottom of the 11th on Thursday. A rematch with Mercer on Friday saw the Bears rally for three ninth inning runs before falling one-run short 5-4, and the Hatters cruised to a 6-2 win over ETSU on Saturday behind a complete-game effort from Will Romanowicz. For the most part, the Hatters tournament success was a result of timely hitting, good pitching, and solid defense.
W-L Record....4-0
Batting Average.... .315
Home Runs....0
Runs Scored-Runs Allowed....20-13
ERA....2.84
Fielding Pct..... .971
Hot Streak
The Hatters have won six straight and 10 of their last 12 games. Overall, after starting the year 9-12, Stetson is 29-10 since Mar. 18 (.744) and 26-8 (.765) since Mar. 28.
Stetson By The Numbers
This season, the Hatters are:
? 29-2 when leading after six inn. (W 13 straight)
? 35-7 when scoring five runs or more
? 26-13 when scoring first
? 18-8 vs. non-conference opponents (W 12 straight)
Among the A-Sun Leaders
Stetson enters the NCAA Regional with a .300 team batting average, the fifth highest total in the Atlantic Sun. The Hatters also rank third in hits, runs, and RBI, and fifth in total bases. Stetson averages 6.3 runs/game.
Home Runs vs. Sacrifices
Stetson has definitely preferred “small ball” to the “long ball” this year. The Hatters have hit just 31 home runs, and only one round-tripper in the last eight games. The Hatters did not hit a home run during the A-Sun tournament. On the other hand, the Hatters have recorded 55 sacrifice bunts (1st in A-Sun) and 32 sacrifice flies (2nd in A-Sun) this season.
Solid Pitching
Stetson's pitching staff ranks second in the A-Sun in ERA (4.02) and second in opponents batting average (.267). The Hatter hurlers have also allowed the second fewest runs (278) and the third fewest hits (540) despite throwing the most innings (537.0). Opponents average just 4.6 runs/game.
Five Team Shutouts
Stetson pitching staff has posted five shutouts this season, the most since collecting six in 1996. Four of the shutouts have come at home (Yale, Lipscomb, Vermont, B-CC) and one on the road (Gardner-Webb).
Fielding Percentage - .972
The Hatters lead the A-Sun and rank 20th in the NCAA with a .972 fld. pct. Stetson is on pace to break the school single-season fielding pct. record of .970, set in 1976.
Fewest Errors
Stetson's defense has committed just 65 errors, the fewest errors in the A-Sun this year. The next closest team is North Florida with 79 errors committed. The Hatters have committed one error or less in 41 of the 60 games so far.
Road Success
Stetson is 14-13 on the road this season with impressive road wins at #8 LSU and #9 Florida, as well as non-conference victories at South Alabama, Bethune-Cookman, UCF, and USF (twice). Earlier, the Hatters won six straight road games for the first time since 2002. Stetson was just 6-17 on the road last year.
Non-Conference Success
Since Stetson's four-run ninth-inning rally and win at #8 LSU on Mar. 12, the Hatters have won 12 straight non-conference games, plus four Atlantic Sun Tournament games. Stetson's 12-game streak includes nine straight non-conference wins at home and five straight non-conference wins on the road.
