Box Score DeLand, Fla. ? Stetson completed a two-game sweep of Holy Cross Sunday afternoon with a 7-3 win over the Crusaders. The victory raised the Hatters' record back to .500 at 4-4 on the season; Holy Cross dropped to 0-2.
Holy Cross put up a pair of runs early with two in the top of the first inning. Matt Perry (Sudbury, Mass.) doubled down the left field line and then scored when catcher Brendan Akashian (Lowell, Mass.) singled to right field. Jake Gorman (Norfolk, Mass.) walked, advanced to third on the single and scored when Galvin Mike (Newport, RI) grounded into a double play.
Stetson lit up the scoreboard with five runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning. With one out Jeremy Cruz singled through the left side of the infield. Aaron Crittenden reached base and Cruz advanced to third on an error by the second baseman. After a walk to Justin Bass (DeLand, Fla.) and Josh Clendenin (Atlanta, Ga.) was hit by pitch to drive in a run, Brian Pruitt (Miami, Fla.) laced a 3 RBI triple. The final run of the inning crossed the plate when Matt Sorrell (Ormond Beach, Fla.) hit a double down the left field line and scored Pruitt.
Stetson added another run in the 4th when Robert Crews (Port Charlotte, Fla) scored on a wild pitch. Crews reached base by legging out an infield hit that forced the shortstop deep into the hole. He moved up to second on a Cruz single up the middle and advanced to third on a fielder's choice.
The Hatter's 7th run scored in the 8th inning. Jacob deGrom (DeLeon Springs. Fla.) led off with a single to left field and was sacrificed to second by Casey Frawley (New Haven, Ct.). He moved over to third on a Crews single through the left side and scored on an RBI ground out by Cruz.
Senior Nick Pugliese (Deltona, Fla.) had a quality start for the Hatters pitching 6.0 innings, striking out one batter and allowing 3 runs. He picked up the win raising his record to 2-0 on the season. Justin Dechert (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and David Burns (Seminole, Fla.) combined for 1 1/3 innings of shutout relief. Senior closer Robbie Elsemiller (Okeechobee, Fla.) then came into the game and closed the door pitching to five batters in 1 2/3 innings and picking up his second save of the season.
In the game Stetson had five players pick up multiple hits led by Pruitt who was 3-for-4 with a triple, a double, and 3 RBI. Cruz, Crews Sorrell and deGrom each had a pair of hits.
Next up for the Hatters is a two-game series with Central Michigan, March 4-5 on Melching Field. Following those games Stetson will travel to Baton Rouge, La. to take on the always-tough LSU squad. Hatter fans can hear all the action at gohatters.com. Play-by-play, as always, will be provided by the voice of Stetson baseball, Bill Topping.
