Box Score DeLand, Fla. ? The Hatters put on a 9th inning charge scoring five runs on five hits, yet fell short to Lipscomb University 11-9. After leading off with a walk and scoring the inning's first run, Justin Bass (DeLand, Fla.) came to the plate for a second time with two outs and runners on second and third. He hit a hard grounder towards the middle, yet the Bisons shortstop made a solid play and ended the game with a throw to first that just beat the speedy Bass.
Although they did not get the result they hoped for, the hearty fans that braved the rain and stayed until the end were rewarded with an exciting conclusion. Bass led off with a walk and advanced to second when Aaron Crittenden (Fort Myers, Fla.) came up with an infield single. Freshman Robert Crews (Port Charlotte, Fla.) followed with a walk and Stetson had the bases loaded with no outs. Brian Pruitt (Miami, Fla.) hit the second infield single of the inning and Bass' run made the score 11-5.
After a strike out fellow freshman, Sean Emory (Miami, Fla.) stepped up to the plate and with two strikes delivered a 2 RBI single down the right field line. For the second day in a row, Emory had a career-best effort. In the game he was 4-for-4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, a walk and a run scored.
Next up in the 9th was another freshman, Jeff Simpson (Valrico, Fla.) who hit a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Pruitt with the 4th run of the inning. With two outs Casey Frawley (New Haven, Ct.) singled and Jeremy Cruz (Miami, Fla.) ripped a double to deep center field scoring Emory with the 5th run of the inning. With Bass coming to the plate and the tying run on second base, the Bisons countered with their closer, Chris Burnett (Wellington, Fla.) who picked up his third save of the season.
Stetson's closer Robbie Elsemiller (Okeechobee, Fla.) actually started the game for the first time this season, and third time in his four-year college career. He pitched 3 innings giving up 5 runs, 2 of which were earned. He did pick up the loss dropping his record to 1-2 on the season.
In addition to Emory's offensive efforts, Stetson had three other players who delivered three hits in the game. Pruitt was 3-for-5 with a single, double, and a triple. Frawley was 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored, and Cruz was 3-for-6 with a double and an RBI. Bass ended up 2-for-5 with a home run 2 RBI and a run scored. It should be noted that he was robbed of a second home run in the 4th inning that would have tied the score at 7-7. His shot cleared the wall, but centerfielder Allen Bolden (Nashville, Tenn.) leaped up, reached over and brought the ball back into play for the third out.
Stetson is now 14-17 overall and 6-9 in A-Sun play. Lipscomb climbs to 17-13 on the season, 12-6 in the conference. The Hatters will return to Melching Field Tuesday to host Bethune-Cookman at 7:00 p.m. Hatters fans can see all the action on Hatter Vision with play-by-play provided by the voice of Stetson baseball Bill Topping.
