For seven innings on Friday night, the Stetson Hatters had no answer for North Florida sophomore left-hander Austin Drury.
 
Fortunately, they found a solution when UNF turned to closer Matthew Naylor, who walked two, hit one and gave up a two-run single to Jorge Arenas as the Hatters rallied for a 3-2 victory in the opening game of the final home series of the season at Melching Field.
 
The comeback in the eighth inning was only half the story for Stetson (23-26, 11-5), which moved into a tie with UNF (32-18, 11-5) for second in the ASUN standings, a game behind Jacksonville. The even more amazing finish came in the ninth inning.
 
Junior Brooks Wilson (4-5) had gone through some ups and down in the game, but he raced to the mound for the ninth with a lead for the first time. He struck out leadoff hitter and then jumped to a 0-2 count on pinch hitter Blake Voyles before surrendering a single to right.
 
Another pinch hitter, Dalton Board, then ripped a single to center and it appeared as if the Ospreys would have runners on the corners with one out. But fate intervened on behalf of the Hatters.
 
Pinch runner Chris Matthias slipped after rounding second, and got caught in a run down. As Stetson senior Colton Lightner ran Matthias back to second, Board advanced from first, giving UNF two runners on the base. Lightner tagged both, as he has been coached to do, and then waited.
 
Umpire Arthur Thigpen signaled that Board was out on the play but Matthias thought the out call was for him. When he stepped off, Lightner was waiting, placing another tag for the final out of the game.
 
"The thing about baseball is that as soon as you think you have seen everything, something else happens," Hatters coach Steve Trimper said. "I don't think we could have ever drawn up ending it on a double play, or whatever you call that. It was really a heads up play to end the game by Colton Lightner.
 
"He recognized right away who was supposed to be out on the base and then, when the other guy vacated, he tagged that guy and the umpires got it right."
 
Lightner, the Stetson captain, gave credit for knowing what to do on the play to a former mentor, retired Hatters head coach Pete Dunn.
 
"The only reason I know this rule is Coach Dunn," Lightner said. "He always taught us the small stuff and he taught us that rule because it is such a complicated rule. Once the guy has established the base, he is safe and the second guy coming is out. I tagged both of them and when the guy who had already established the base stepped off, I tagged him. It was a crazy play and it all happed really quickly."
 
The play was set up when Matthias fell down after rounding second.
 
"I saw the guy trip going around second base, so I knew there was going to be a pickle," Lightner said. "When I got it, I saw the guy at first go to second base, so I just ran the lead runner back."
 
After tagging both runners and getting an out call on Board running from first, Lightner said he was waiting to see if the runner, Matthias, would step off the bag.
 
"I saw him start moving so I slapped it on him. It was a crazy play, but the umpire was right on it as well and knew what was going on. I just have to give credit to Coach Dunn."
 
That play capped a wild finish as the Hatters won their third straight overall and their second straight with a three-run rally late.
 
"It was a good comeback win for us," Trimper said. "Their lefty was very good. He did a good job of mixing changeups away on our righties and then, when we tried to adjust to that, he would jam us. He was just one step ahead of us. Our approach wasn't great early in the game."
 
That changed in a matter of five hitters after Drury allowed a one-out walk to Jacob Koos in the eighth. Naylor (2-4) came on with the Ospreys up 2-0, looking for his 10^th save of the year. Before the inning was over, the Hatters rallied for a 3-2 lead.
 
Sophomores Mike Spooner and Jack Gonzalez were able to battle their way through tough at bats against the sidwinding right-hander to load the bases with two outs. Freshman Austin Bogart followed suit, working a full count before getting hit by a pitch to force Koos home.
 
Another freshman, Jorge Arenas, did not wait for Naylor to walk him. Arenas jumped on the first pitch he saw, driving it up the middle for a two-run single to give the Hatters the lead.
 
"Bogie grinding out the hit batter and then Jorgie stepped up there in an RBI situation," Trimper said. "He went up there hunting for a pitch up. He did it twice in the game where he hit a fastball out of the strike zone on the first pitch. He just stayed short to the ball and that was a huge play."
 
Lightner liked what he saw from the two freshmen.
 
"Jorgie was clutch as heck and Bogie battled his butt off up there to get on base and get that first run across," Lightner said. "They Jorgie just had a great approach and hit the ball right back up the middle. He has been a clutch guy for us all year and came through again in a clutch spot."
 
For Wilson, it was the first time he has pitched a nine-inning complete game all season – even though it was his third complete game. He allowed two runs, one earned, on eight hits, walking four with eight strikeouts.
 
The eight strikeouts move him to sixth on the Stetson season chart, two behind Corey Kluber, who had 117 in 2007. He is also now eighth on the career top 10 list at Stetson with 229.
 
"Give credit to Brooks for going out and battling to keep the game close," Trimper said. "He made a mistake in the first inning with an error and, other than that, it was just the one two-out RBI that he gave up.
 
"Coach (Dave) Therneau and I knew early that he didn't have his best stuff tonight but, like I have always said about grinders and winners, even when they don't have their best stuff they can keep you in a position to win the game."
 
Wilson's errant pickoff throw in the first opened the door for Alex Merritt to double Yahir Gurrola home with the first run. It was Merritt again, this time in the fifth inning, with a two-out double to score Chris Thibideau for a 2-0 Ospreys lead.
 
"Anytime you throw nine innings it is hard to be consistent," Wilson said. "You are going to have some ups and downs through the game where you lose in a little. You just have to refocus and get back into the zone."
 
Stetson had just five hits in the game, with two of those coming from Arenas. Koos was hitless, snapping his hitting streak at 15 games. Merritt had two of the eight hits for UNF.
 
Even though Lightner was hitless in the game, he impacted the outcome with his experience and defensive play.
 
"Colton is playing really well, is playing loose and with some energy," Trimper said. "He is having fun and the team is having fun because we are winning ball games in different ways right now. That is a good sign, but we have to continue that."
 
The win for Stetson, accompanied by JU's victory over USC Upstate, clinched a spot in the ASUN Tournament for all three teams.
 
"This win clinched us a spot in the tournament, and the morale of this team is great right now," Wilson said. "This was a huge win because we just had to grind it out. And puts us in a good position going into tomorrow and Sunday."
 
Trimper said his team needs to continue to take things one game at a time.
 
"We need to go out tomorrow and try to close the series out and then starting thinking about Sunday when Sunday gets here."
 
Saturday's game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start due to the Stetson commencement ceremonies, which are scheduled for 8 a.m. at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium. The Hatters' three seniors – Lightner, Dean Garabedian and Tyler Keller – will all be recognized during pregame ceremonies.
 
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.