Johnson City, Tenn. ? Stetson completed its first conference sweep of the season Saturday with a 16-15 win over East Tennessee State in Johnson City. The teams combined for 36 hits in the game and produced the most home runs (10) of any A-Sun Conference game this season. The previous high for two teams was seven.

Stetson opened the scoring flood gates with four runs in the top of the 1^st inning. Jeremy Cruz (Miami, Fla.), Justin Bass (DeLand, Fla.) and Aaron Crittenden (Fort Myers, Fla.) hit back-to-back-to-back doubles to score the first two runs. Robert Crews (Port Charlotte, Fla.) followed with his 7^th home run of the season to left field. It was a shot that easily cleared the net that rises over 40 feet above ground level.

ETSU was not to be outdone and answered with four runs of its own on four hits in the bottom of the inning. The key hit was a two-run homer by Anthony Russell (Waldorf, Md.). It was Russell's A-Sun leading 20^th of the season.

The 2^nd inning was a repeat of the 1^st with both teams picking up four runs. The Hatters' runs came on back-to-back home runs by Casey Frawley (New Haven, Ct.) and Jeremy Cruz (Miami, Fla.). Frawley hit a 3-run shot into the left field net and Cruz went to the opposite field for his 14^th of the season.

At 8-8 going into the 3^rd inning Stetson fell off the pace and only put up three runs. After Pruitt led off with a double to right field, he scored on a Crews single up the middle. Sean Emory (Miami, Fla.) added the other two tallies with his second home run of the series, third of the season. The Buccaneers added a run in the bottom half on another Russell home run to make the score 11-9 after three. Russell tied the ETSU season record with his 21^st round tripper.

In the 4^th inning the teams traded single runs. Cruz walked and advanced to third base on a double by Bass. He then scored on an RBI groundout by Pruitt.

Stetson entered the 5^th inning with a 12-10 lead and ended it on top 15-11. Josh Clendenin (Atlanta, Ga.) hit his third home run of the season to open the scoring. It was a sky-high blast that cleared the “Dr. Enuff” sign in left-center field. The Dr. Enuf sign is another of the unusual features at Cardinal Park. It is a long narrow sign that juts above the fence and the net and stands nearly 60 feet high. Any ball that hits the sign remains in play and very few have cleared it over the years.

Between the two teams, at least one run was scored in the top and bottom of each inning through five. After that the scoreboard showed zeros until the bottom of the 8^th when the Bucs scored a run to make the score 15-12 Stetson. Jon Edmonds (Johnson City, Tenn.) scored the run after reaching on a triple off the wall in center field. The hit was just what Edmonds needed to complete the cycle.

Stetson completed its portion of the scoring barrage with a solo run in the top of the 9^th. Emory reached base on a walk and scored on a double by Cruz. Cruz was the Hatters' offensive star after finishing the game 4-for-5 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, 4 RBI and 4 runs scored. Bass was 3-for-6 with 2 doubles, and an RBI. In addition to Cruz, Emory, Frawley, Pruitt and Clendenin each homered for the Hatters.

Nick Bohne (Melbourne, Fla.) picked up the win (2-2) with 3 1/3 innings of work striking out five and walking none. Will Dorsey (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) secured the win with his first save.

With the win Stetson raised its record to 25-31 overall and 15-18 in A-Sun play. ETSU completed its season 18-38 overall and 9-24 in conference. Stetson will now go into next week's A-Sun Tournament in DeLand as the #5 seed and play Mercer University in the opening round. Hatters fans can see all the action on A-Sun TV 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”. Tickets for the tournament are available by calling 1-386-738-HATS.