Charleston, SC – It took the Stetson Hatters a little longer than they would have liked, but win No. 2,000 in program history was just as sweet on Saturday.
The Hatters got that milestone victory, snapping a five-game losing streak in the process, by downing The Citadel 9-2 on Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader.
Win No. 2,001 didn't take nearly as long to achieve as the Hatters downed the Bulldogs 9-6 to sweep the twinbill.
Stetson improved to 7-10 on the year with the wins while dropping The Citadel to 4-10.
"It is hard to win doubleheaders," Hatters coach
Steve Trimper said. "I have had a lot of experience with doubleheaders and it is really hard to win one, especially on the road, so that is a big positive."
Prior to taking the field for batting practice on Saturday, Trimper spent some extra time in a meeting with his hitters to talk about their approach at the plate.
"We are going to constantly try to improve and teach," Trimper said. "We had a little bit longer meeting this morning to talk about our approaches and focus at the plate so that we could have more quality and competitive at bats. There was a big improvement today and we were able to score some runs because of it."
The Hatters also got outstanding pitching performances from its stating pitchers, sophomores
Jack Perkins and
Logan Gilbert. Stetson snapped its losing skid behind Perkins (1-2), who worked eight shutout innings against the Bulldogs, allowing just five hits while walking two and striking out a career-high 13 in the first game.
"He commanded the strike zone, both in and out with his fastball," Trimper said of Perkins. "He also had his slider going and they couldn't touch him. They never could get in a rhythm against him -- he was just so dominant. It just goes to show that when you pitch inside, you open up so much more of the outside of the plate."
Gilbert (2-0) went six innings in the second game, allowing five runs on six hits, with most of the damage coming after there were two out in the fifth inning. Freshman
Ryan Stark worked the final three innings in game two, allowing just one unearned run, to get his first career save.
"We pitched the ball extremely well except for that one inning when they got some two-out RBIs off Gilbert," Trimper said. "Perkins was great and Stark came in and did a great job.
"Two weeks ago we were in a game like that at Bethune where no one stepped up. Tonight, when we gave up a bigger inning, we regrouped. We needed to win a game like that. You have to learn how to put the pedal down when you get in a game like that. When the other team does make a comeback on you, someone has to come in and put a stop to it and Stark did that for us tonight."
The Hatters jumped out quickly on Citadel starter Will Abbott (0-2) in the opening game, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning and another in the third.
Mike Spooner was responsible for two of those runs, doubling home
Jacob Koos in the first and then scoring Koos again in the third with a single. A Bogart single in the first drove Spooner home.
Stetson tacked on a single run in the fifth inning when Bogart singled home Koos, who had walked. The dam burst in the sixth when the Hatters scored five times on four hits with the help of a walk and two Citadel errors. The big hits in the inning for the Hatters came from
Kirk Sidwell – a two-run double – and Koos – an RBI single.
It was Sidwell who got things started for the Hatters in the second game. He blasted a solo home run off Citadel starter Will Pillsbury (0-4) in the second inning. Three walks, an error and a sacrifice fly gave Stetson a 3-0 lead early.
That lead grew to 6-0 in the third inning after
Austin Bogart and Sidwell opened the frame with consecutive doubles. After a pitching change,
Austin Hale delivered an RBI double and Koos drew his second bases-loaded walk to force in another run.
"That was the Sidwell that I have been hearing about," Trimper said. "He drove the ball the opposite way and he got a hanging breaking ball and hit it out of the park. I thought Spooner had a good day too. Guys were getting hits. We had a few choppers for hits, so hopefully we are heating up a little bit offensively."
Stetson continued to add on runs in the fifth inning when Koos delivered a sacrifice fly and then Spooner had a two-run single for a 9-0 lead.
The Bulldogs responded in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs on four hits, with all four hits coming with two out in the inning.
The Hatters banged out 19 hits in the two games, with Spooner accounting for two in each game while driving in four. Sidwell and Bogart also had three hits on the day.
"We did a lot in that meeting this morning about the things that weren't working," Trimper said. "I told them that we have to change what we are doing. I am also forcing these guys to run the bases better and we did that. Those are positives that we can teach on and hope to continue to have success with better approaches."
The Hatters will open a six-game home stand on Tuesday night when they host FIU in the first of a two-game series. The Panthers are 9-7 on the year after having their seven-game win streak snapped on Saturday by Charleston Southern. That streak included a pair of wins over Miami last week.
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.
