Athens, Ga. - The Hatters jumped out to an early 3-run lead but couldn't hold off the charging Bulldogs and dropped their third game of the series 7-5 to the University of Georgia (6-2) in Athens. For the second day in a row Stetson (3-4) outhit Georgia this time by an 11-to-10 margin.
Three Hatters picked up two hits each led by sophomore Mark Jones (Palm Coast, Fla.) who was 2-for-5 with two RBI, two stolen bases, and one run scored. Jones sat out Saturday's game with a bruised left hand, yet was back in the lineup Sunday. Junior Jeff Simpson (Valrico, Fla.) was 2-for-3 on the day with an RBI and a walk, and senior Aaron Crittenden (Fort Myers, Fla.) finished 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Stetson starting pitcher Kyle Maulbetch (Jacksonville, Fla.) was impressive through four innings yet ran out of gas in the 5th. He tossed 4 1/3 allowing five hits, four earned runs and struck out three batters.
"I am very proud of Kyle Maulbetsch the way he threw today we couldn't get him out of there quite in time", said Stetson head coach Pete Dunn. "He hasn't been out on the mound in two years so we just have to build him up. He has really pitched two good ball games for us."
Freshman Kurt Schluter (Jupiter, Fla.) who was next up on the mound had a tough outing. He surrendered four hits and three earned runs in an inning of work. Ian Thompson (St. Petersburg, Fla.) faced one batter and struck him out, Justin Dechert (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and Jacob deGrom (DeLeon Springs, Fla.) each held the Bulldogs scoreless for an inning.
"We swung the bats well, we played some good defense, and we did a lot more good things than we did things wrong", said Dunn. "With a young club you've got to look for the good things. I think some of our young kids really played well in a big time environment. They grew up some this weekend. I am really pleased with our lineup. We have some guys struggling but we are still scoring runs."
Stetson will be in Daytona Beach Tuesday night for a 6:00 p.m. game against Bethune-Cookman and then return home to host the 2010 Bright House Invitational next weekend. Hatters fans can catch the audio broadcast on Hatter Vision by going to www.gohatters.com. The voice of Stetson baseball Bill Topping will call the action.
