DeLand, Fla. - After a disappointing loss on Tuesday the Stetson baseball team rebounded for a 5-1 win over Siena (4-10) Wednesday night at Melching Field. Stetson (13-4) took advantage of a solid outing by starting pitcher Will Dorsey (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) who struck out seven batters over six innings and improved to 3-2 on the season.
"Will gave us a quality outing. He did a great job and the bullpen did a nice job as well", said Stetson head coach Pete Dunn.
Joe Dye (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.), Cameron Griffin (Naples, Fla.), and Robbie Powell (Punta Gorda, Fla.) pitched the final four scoreless innings. Dye increased his streak of not allowing a run to 10 outings, Griffin struck out three batters without a walk, and Powell allowed just one hit and struck out one over 1.1 innings.
"That was a big game for us", said Stetson head coach Pete Dunn. "We talked last night and before the game today about how we have had a poor approach to the last two ball games and how important it was to bounce back tonight and get back on the winning track."
Offensively the Hatters out hit the Saints 11-to-5 and for the second consecutive night played errorless baseball. Juniors Robert Crews (Port Charlotte, Fla.) and Nick Rickles (Loxahatchee, Fla.), along with freshman Kyle Zech (Naples, Fla.) led the way with two hits each. Crews was 2-for-4 with a run scored, Rickles finished 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, and Zech stepped in admirably for an injured Jeff Simpson (Valrico, Fla.) and went 2-for-3 with a double and run scored in his first collegiate start.
"We had Simpson and Jones out of the lineup tonight and that was a big blow but guys stepped up. Good teams do that, they find ways to win when you have injuries", said Dunn.
"Robert has been seeing the ball well he got a couple hits and Rickles continued to hit for us. We were pleased to see Theisen and Lashley both get big hits for us tonight and pick up RBIs. It is a little bit at a time for the guys who haven't been hitting like we know they can. We hope that will be a catalyst that will get them going", added Dunn.
The Hatters will return to Melching Field on Friday at 6:30 p.m. to begin a three-day weekend series with A-Sun rival Mercer University. Saturday's game will begin at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday is a 1:00 p.m. start. Stetson fans can see the games on Hatter Vision at GoHatters.com with Bill Topping calling the action. Tickets are available at the gate or can be purchased online at GoHatters.com or by calling 738-HATS.
