DeLand, Fla. ? In a battle of aces Stetson's Robby Donovan (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) out-dueled Kennesaw State's Kyle Heckathorn (Ringgold, Ga.) and led the Hatters (10-15, 3-4) to a 7-2 win Friday night in the opening game of the Atlantic Sun Conference series with the Owls (9-11, 3-3). Donovan threw 6 1/3 innings and struck out five batters. Heckathorn is the A-Sun's Preseason Pitcher of the Year and a Preseason All-American.

In the heart of Stetson's order Casey Frawley (New Haven, Ct.) was 3-for-4 with two RBI and a home run and Jeremy Cruz (Miami, Fla.) was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a home run. The pair's home runs came back-to-back in the bottom of the seventh. After Jeff Simpson (Valrico, Fla.) reached base after a walk, Frawley blasted a line drive that cleared the left field wall by 20 feet. Not to be out done, Cruz launched a towering shot that cleared the scoreboard by twenty feet and landed well into the road beyond.

After the Owls opened the scoring with a run in the third inning, the Hatters answered with a pair in the bottom of the fourth. With one out Cruz singled through the left side and scored when freshman catcher Nick Rickles (Loxahatchee, Fla.) hit his third home run of the season. It was a line drive shot down the left field line.

With two on and one out in the top of the sixth, and a Stetson clinging to the one run lead, the Owls threatened to make some noise. It wasn't to be however as Donovan bore down and struck out the last two batters.

The Hatters added two more in the sixth inning. Frawley led off with a single to left and advanced to second when Cruz was hit by a pitch for the third time in the last two games. Aaron Crittenden (Fort Myers, Fla.) followed with an RBI single to plate Frawley and move Cruz to third. Then on a wild pitch Cruz sprinted home and scored on a head first dive when his outstretched left hand reached the plate just ahead of the tag by the pitcher.

Crittenden was 2-for-4 in the game with an RBI and Simpson tagged a single for the Hatters. In relief, Ian Thompson (St. Petersburg, Fla.) pitched a perfect 2/3 of an inning striking out one and Jake Hitchcock (Alachua, Fla.) threw the final two innings giving up one run and striking out a pair.

Stetson will return to Melching tomorrow for a doubleheader with KSU beginning at 1:00 p.m. Stetson fans can hear all the games on Hatter Vision found at www.gohatters.com. The voice of Hatters baseball Bill Topping will call the action. Tickets for all Stetson home games can be purchased on line at gohatters.com or at the gate on game day.