Box Score
Johnson City, Tenn. ? Stetson scored four runs in the 8th inning and seven in the 9th for a dramatic 18-12 come-from-behind win over East Tennessee State. Brian Pruitt (Miami, Fla.) was 4-for-6 with seven RBI and a grand slam to pace the Hatters win.
Today's win secures the #6 seed for the Hatters in next week's Atlantic Sun Conference tournament in DeLand. Depending on results of other games they could end up as the 5th seed by jumping ahead of Jacksonville.
Stetson came out swinging with three runs in the top of the 1st inning, and a repeat performance in the 2nd. Sean Emory (Miami, Fla.) opened the game with a leadoff single through the left side of the infield and Casey Frawley (New Haven, Ct.) followed with a single through the right side. After a walk to Jeremy Cruz (Miami, Fla.) the bases were loaded. Justin Bass (DeLand, Fla.) stepped to the plate and delivered a 2-RBI single to left field. Then with two outs Brian Pruitt (Miami, Fla.) pounded another single to left field scoring Cruz and the Hatters were up 3-0.
The three runs in the second inning came off the bats of Bass and Aaron Crittenden (Fort Myers, Fla.). Bass singled through the left side and plated Jeff Simpson (Valrico, Fla.) for his third RBI of the game. Crittenden lined a shot up the middle scoring Emory and Cruz, each of whom reached base on walks.
ETSU returned volley with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning and struck back hard with four in the third off of starting pitcher Andy Mauldin (Gainesville, Fla.) tying the score 6-6.
Stetson added a single run in the 4th inning. Cruz singled hard up the middle and eventually scored on an error by the third baseman that would have ended the inning; 7-6 Hatters.
Mauldin was literally knocked out of the game in the bottom half of the inning. After giving up two runs on a home run to right field, he took a line drive off the thigh that ended his outing. Mauldin threw 3 2/3 innings giving up nine runs (seven earned) on 11 hits. He struck out two batters and walked one.
The Buccaneers scored three more runs in the fifth inning to take an 11-7 lead. After reliever Travis Stortz (Safety Harbor, Fla.) picked up two outs and then allowed two runners to reach base, Robbie Elsemiller (Okeechobee, Fla.) entered the game to try and put out the fire. Although he did strike out the last batter looking, he gave up a three-run home run to the first hitter he faced. ETSU added one more in the 6th inning to lead by five.
Although down, the Hatters did not give up and scored four runs in the top of the 8th to get within one at 12-11. The big blow was a dramatic grand slam over the berm and the wall in right center by Pruitt.
Stetson loaded the bases in the top of the 9th as Crittenden walked to bring in the tying run. In the next at bat Crews walked scoring the go-ahead run giving the Hatters a 13-12 lead. Stetson scored five more runs on four hits for the 18-12 final score.
Robbie Elsemiller threw 4 1/3 innings of relief allowing just two runs on four hits to pick up the win for Stetson. He is now 3-4 on the year. Offensively Bass was 5-for-6 with three RBI. Emory, Frawley, and Cruz contributed three hits each.
With the win Stetson raised its record to 24-31 overall and 14-18 in A-Sun play. ETSU is now 18-37 overall and 9-23 in conference. Stetson will return to the Cardinal Park tomorrow for the third and final game in the regular season-ending series. Hatters fans can hear all the action on Hatter Vision Audio with play-by-play provided by the voice of Stetson baseball Bill Topping. They can also follow the games on GameWatcher by going to www.gohatters.com and clicking on “Live Stats”.
