The Stetson baseball team had every opportunity to snap a three-game losing skid on Wednesday afternoon against visiting Seton Hall.
 
The opportunities were so plentiful, in fact, that the Hatters almost tied the school record for most runners left on base in a 6-5 loss to the Pirates. Stetson left multiple runners on base in every inning except the fourth when a double-play erased that chance – a total of 18 in the game.
 
The most difficult of those runners came in the last two innings. In the eighth, Stetson loaded the bases with no one out and drew a walk to force in a run to cut the deficit to one run. Seton Hall (6-6) called on junior right-hander Andrew Politi to stem the tide and he did so, in a big way.
 
In two previous appearances this year, Politi was unable to record even one out, surrendering five runs on three hits. He flipped the script against Stetson, striking out three straight to get out of the eighth with the lead still in place.
 
The Hatters still had live after the missed chance in the eighth when Jacob Koos led off the ninth with a hit. Politi was able to strike out Austin Hale, who was trying to get a bunt down, before Mike Spooner singled Koos into scoring position.
 
With the potential tying and winning runs on base, Politi struck out Stetson freshmen Austin Bogart and Andrew MacNeil, both looking, to close out the game.
 
Stetson fell to 5-9 on the year with the loss.
 
Neither team will look back on the game, which took more than four hours to play, as one to remember. A total of 11 pitchers combined to walk 22 batters – 11 for each team. There were also six errors, a hit batter, a passed ball and a combined total of 390 pitches. Of the six runs scored in the game by Seton Hall, four scored as a result of bases loaded walks.
 
Stetson freshman Mitchell Senger (0-1) was the first of five pitchers to work in the game. The two earned runs he allowed both scored after he left the mound. He walked three, struck out two and did not allow a hit.
 
Junior Ben Onyshko walked all three batters he faced in Seton Hall's four-run fourth inning. Joey Gonzalez walked one, and surrendered an RBI single before finally getting the Hatters out of the frame. It was Gonzalez who had trouble the next inning after surrendering a two-out double to Matt Toke. Consecutive walks loaded the bases before Tyler Keller was called in from the pen.
 
The senior left-handed opened his appearance by walking in a run before turning in the best outing of his career. Keller, who had never worked more than 2.2 innings in a game in his collegiate career, held the Pirates to one run on four hits over four innings of work on Wednesday.
 
The only run he allowed came in the eighth when Mike Alescio led off with a double and scored on a two-out single by Joe Poduslenko. He stayed on until there were two out in the ninth before giving way to junior Dean Garabedian, who got a pop out to end the frame.
 
The Hatters scored three times off Seton Hall starter Chris Morris, with two of those runs coming as a result of Pirates errors. In the two games at Melching Field, Seton Hall committed 10 errors.
 
Koos led off the game by getting hit by a pitch and then used a passed ball and a throwing error to get to third before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Mike Spooner. The second Stetson run came in the fourth when Ben Rowdon reached on an error, moved to third on another error and then scored on a sac fly by Hale. The Hatters scored the old fashioned way in the fifth when Jack Gonzalez walked and then scored from first on a double by Sidwell.
 
The Hatters picked up another run in the sixth off wen Koos walked to open the inning, went to third on a Hale single, and scored on a wild pitch.
 
Rick DeVito (1-0) was the fourth of six pitchers for Seton Hall and got the win. Gonzalez had three hits for Stetson while Koos added two.
 
The Hatters will make their first extended road trip of the year this weekend, travelling to Charleston, SC, for a three-game series against The Citadel. The Bulldogs come into the series with a record of 3-8 on the year.
 
Friday's series opener is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start. The second game of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday with the series finale set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. Video of all three games will be available through the Southern Conference Digital Network online.
 
 
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.