DeLand, Fla. -- Whether it was the result of increased confidence, more comfort, or just plain momentum, freshman Tori Perkins had herself a stellar weekend in the circle.
The Hatter righthander pitched another shutout Sunday - this time a four-hitter - as Stetson defeated UT Martin 2-0 to complete a perfect 3-0 weekend at Patricia Wilson Field.
Perkins picked up all three victories for the Hatters (20-10) in the Stetson Classic, pitching back-to-back shutouts on Saturday and Sunday.
"I think early in the season, she had freshman jitters as they all do, but I think she is past that," Stetson head coach Frank Griffin said. "I think she has her confidence back and she is ready to play ball. She was solid all day long."
Perkins (5-1) scattered four hits - three singles and a double - over seven innings for her fifth win of the year. She walked one and struck out three.
For the weekend, Perkins went 3-0 with a 0.35 ERA. Opponents batted just .159 against her and were held scoreless over her final 15 innings of work.
"I was just trying to keep it low in the zone so they would hit ground balls or pop it up," Perkins said. "The defense did an excellent job. They worked really hard today. I loved it."
Stetson's defense handled both the routine and the difficult plays on Sunday. Two hard hit grounds balls that deflected from one infielder to another still resulted in putouts at first base. The first deflection came off of Perkins in the second inning but caromed right to Kayla Drury at short.
"When it deflected off my glove, I looked to see where it was going and I thought 'Oh good, Kayla is there,'" Perkins said.
Later, Jessie TenBroeck fielded a deflection off of first baseman Ashly Smith, but Smith quickly recovered to receive the throw back at the bag.
"You can always count on this defense," Griffin said. "We are solid at every position. I am real pleased with the way our defense is playing. We would like to get the bats a little hotter, and I would like to see us execute bunting a little better."
Stetson scored both its runs in the bottom of the third inning. Brittany Hawn scored on an RBI grounder from Smith, and Jazz Vasquez scored when two Skyhawks players collided trying to catch a pop fly from Drury.
UT Martin (15-10) starter Alyssa Vanlandingham held Stetson to just four hits over six innings while allowing just one earned run.
Perkins and Smith were named to the all-tournament team.
The Hatters will host Monmouth at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Notes: Frank Griffin won his 888th career game ... Stetson won all three games of the Hatter Classic by a combined total of four runs ... The Hatters are 11-3 in games decided by one or two runs ... Stetson did not steal a base for the first time in 24 games ... The Hatters committed no errors on Saturday and Sunday.
Stetson Classic all-tournament team:
Tori Perkins, Ashly Smith - Stetson
Carly Gonzales, Renate Meckl - UT Martin
Sarah Miller, Jessica Rutherford - Binghampton
Erica Krumbine, Morgan Brown - Wagner
Sarah Kleinfelter, Marina Vitalich - George Mason
