DeLand, Fla. - The Hatters offense exploded for 16 runs on 20 hits and then Stetson (24-19) held off a late rally and defeated Bethune-Cookman (26-17) by a score of 16-9 Tuesday night on Melching Field. The Wildcats plated eight runs in the top of the 9th inning in a furious attempt at a comeback. It was the second mid-week game the Hatters have won since the conference season opened on March 19.
Will Dorsey (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) gave his team its fourth consecutive quality start from the mound. He tossed the first six complete innings allowing just one run on five hits while striking out four batters. Jake Boyd (West Palm Beach, Fla.) pitched well in two scoreless innings of relief. The trouble came in the 9th when Joe Dye (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) and Nick Bohne (Melbourne, Fla.) took the brunt of the Wildcat attack. Dye surrendered six runs, four of which were unearned, and Bohne allowed two unearned runs.
The Stetson bats came alive early and did not slow until after five innings and 15 runs. The big innings came in the 2nd and the 4th where the Hatters scored five and six runs respectively.
Kurt Schluter (Jupiter, Fla.) and Sean Emory (Miami, Fla.) led the attack. Schluter finished 3-for-3 with a home run (4th), a double, four runs scored and two RBI. Emory was 4-for-5, scored three runs and had two RBI in the game. Ryan Lashley (Lake Worth, Fla.) led the way in RBI with three after delivering three hits in five at bats and scoring a run. Mark Jones (Palm Coast, Fla.) had two hits including his 4th home run of the season.
The Hatters will now hit the road for a weekend conference series at East Tennessee State. Stetson enters the series with an 11-4 record and a 2nd place standing in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Stetson fans can listen to the game on Hatter Vision by going to www.gohatters.com. The voice of Stetson baseball Bill Topping will call the action.
