Stetson coach Steve Trimper has been looking for a fourth starting pitcher he can rely on and, if Tuesday night's 9-2 victory over Volusia County rival Bethune-Cookman is any indication, he may have found one.
 
Junior left-hander Ben Onyshko (2-4) made his first start since the opening week of the season, holding the visiting Wildcats to two unearned run on four hits over six innings of work to earn the win.
 
It was the second consecutive strong outing for the Hatters' Canadian, who struck out six in three shutout innings of work against Florida State last week.
 
"I just tried to attack the strike zone and pitch to contact," Onyshko said. "I know I got some punch outs early in the game, but I wanted to keep the pitch count down and get after their hitters."
 
Over his last nine innings of work, Onyshko has allowed just the two unearned runs on six hits with no walks and 15 strikeouts.
 
"I have been preaching to the whole team that you are going to have ups and downs, but it is how you react to those ups and downs," Trimper said. "I would by lying to the guys if I didn't give them a second chance and, after struggling for a good portion of the season, Ben got in last week against Florida State and built some confidence. Tonight he built off that.
 
"We are going to need quality starts if we are fortunate enough to keep playing and qualify for the conference tournament. We want to make sure we have four or five starters because you usually win those things with guys who haven't normally been starting."
 
The Stetson offense gave Onyshko plenty of support on Tuesday. The Hatters scored in each of the first four innings, building an 8-1 lead. That margin likely brought on some uneasy feelings in the home dugout, because Stetson held an 8-1 lead after seven innings the first time these teams played this year, but lost that game 9-8 in 11 innings.
 
The Hatters (20-25) were not about to let that happen again.
 
"When we walked the two guys to start the seventh inning I had a little bit of a flashback," Trimper said. "We preach that you have to learn from your mistakes and fall forward. We obviously didn't play well two months ago in the same situation. We gave up a couple of walks there, but the bullpen shut it down with a couple of strikeouts."
 
Offensively, the Hatters relied on the combination of Jacob Koos and Mike Spooner at the top of the order. Koos had three hits in the game, extending his hitting streak to a team season-best 12 games, and scored three runs. He also stole four bases on the night, as Stetson piled up a total of seven bags in the game.
 
It was the most stolen bases in a game for a Stetson team since at least the 2003 season.
 
With Koos getting hits and Austin Hale drawing walks (three), Spooner had an easy time driving in runs. Sacrifice flies in the second and sixth innings plated two and a single in the fourth drove in another. Koos had an RBI of his own in the second, part of a four-run inning, and Jack Gonzalez and Austin Bogart plated runs as well.
 
Jorge Arenas blasted a solo home run in the third inning, his second of the year.
 
Cookman (25-21) starter T.J. Densmore took the loss, allowing six runs in just an inning and two-thirds. Alexis Herrera surrendered the final three runs in his 3.2 innings on the mound.
 
"This team is so much more mature and more experienced than it was the first time we played these guys," Trimper said. "I look back at that game and we were still trying to learn the signs, but we are starting to get into a little bit of a rhythm now."
 
With three hits on Tuesday, Koos raised his season batting average to .335. Over his last five games he is hitting .600 (15-for-25) with multiple hits in every game. The four steals on Tuesday give him an ASUN best 23 on the year.
 
"He is swinging the bat well by getting into hitters counts and attacking the fastball," Trimper said. "It is nice to see that because, when he gets on base, he is a threat to steal bases and it quickens up the pitchers. Their pitches get a little flatter to give the guys behind him a chance to swing at some flat fastballs."
 
In addition to the three hits from Koos, the Hatters got two hits each from Spooner, Gonzalez and Arenas. Jameel Edney had two of the four hits in the game for the Wildcats, whose only runs came as a result of the two Stetson errors, one in the third inning and another in the fifth.
 
The Hatters can now turn their full focus toward the final nine games of the regular season, all against ASUN teams. Stetson will travel to face Jacksonville this weekend for a three-game series before hosting North Florida next weekend. Those two teams are currently tied for first place in the league, just two games in front of the Hatters.
 
"Our club was picked to finish sixth before the season, but we have an opportunity to try to win two series against two very good clubs to put us in first place," Trimper said. "We have come this far, now we can go try to win the regular season."
 
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.