Stetson junior Mitchell Jordan said that he was perfectly collected in the ninth inning of Friday night's 2-1 victory over Winthrop when the visiting Eagles loaded the bases.

He had every reason to be calm. Despite allowing back-to-back singles to start the ninth, Hatters' closer Walker Sheller came back to strike out the next two hitters. The Eagles loaded the bases when Jace Whitley outran Sheller to first base for an infield single, but Sheller slammed the door by striking out pinch hitter Hunter Lipscomb to preserve the victory.

“I have all the trust in Walker and the defense, and he took care of it,” Jordan said.

Stetson improved to 11-8 overall with the win while Winthrop fell to 10-8. The victory for Jordan evens his season record at 2-2 and the save was Sheller's A-Sun leading sixth of the year. Winthrop starter Sam Kmiec (3-2) took the loss despite going the distance, allowing just two runs on seven hits.

The evening belonged to Jordan, who tied his career-high with nine strikeouts in his eight innings of work. The only run he allowed was unearned as a result of the only Stetson error in the game. He finished his night with a strikeout to close the eighth inning.

“I didn't feel my best early in the game, but as it went on I started to trust the guys behind me, and they made plays,” Jordan said. “They told me to empty the gas tank in the eighth, so I knew when I got that last guy I was done and I knew it was in good hands with Walker.”

Stetson coach Pete Dunn said he was happy to see Jordan battled through some control problems early in the game. He only walked one, but he went to at least a three-ball count on four of the first seven hitters in the game.

“Mitchell got better as the game went on,” Dunn said. “He got deep in some counts early but, as good pitchers do, he settled down and pitched really well.

The Hatters gave Jordan a run in the very first inning when Matt Morales delivered a one-out double, moved up on a single by the middle by Vance Vizcaino and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kirk Sidwell.

“It is great to score early when you have your ace out there,” Dunn said. “It never means that one run will win it, but it is nice when you give your Friday night guy a run early. It gave us a pick-me-up. Then, when they tied it, we came right back an inning later to take the lead.”

The Eagles scored their only run in the fourth after Anthony Paulsen delivered a one-out single. He moved up to third when Roger Gonzalez he a ground ball to third base that Colton Lightner was unable to handle cleanly. Babe Thomas plated the run with a sacrifice fly.

The Hatters got that run back in the fifth when Charlie Watters, who reached base three times in the game, walked, moved up on a single by Morales and then scored on a Vizcaino hit.

“We got seven hits tonight, which wasn't a lot, but we got some opportune hits,” Dunn said. “Vance got the go-ahead hit. It was a great win against a good club. We can enjoy it tonight, but we have to get up and get back out here early tomorrow. I am really proud of the way we played tonight.”

Jordan said the team bounced back as he expected it would following Tuesday night's disappointing loss to South Florida.

“We stayed positive and stuck to the process,” Jordan said. “It is a long year and that was just one game. We are back on it and we are going to keep it going.

“This is big win because it is a homecoming for their coaches. It is big for us to get the first one. Now we can try to take the series tomorrow.”

The game was a homecoming for Winthrop head coach Tom Riginos and assistant head coach Clint Chrysler, who both played and coached for Dunn at Stetson.

Offensively, the Hatters got two hits each in the game from Morales, Vizcaino and John Fussell. Paulsen led Winthrop with three hits on the night while Whitley added two.

The Hatters will try to take the series in the second game on Saturday, which has been moved up to a noon start in advance of expected afternoon rain.