Junior Joey Gonzalez went into Tuesday night's game at Melching Field with just three starts in his Stetson career.
 
The right-hander made his fourth start one he will remember forever, blanking the 24^th ranked UCF Knights over seven innings in a 1-0 Hatters victory.
 
The win for Stetson (4-0) snapped a 12-game losing streak against UCF (1-3) going back to 2007.
 
Gonzalez (1-0) only faced major trouble once in his career-long outing. In the sixth inning, UCF got singles from leadoff hitter Matthew Mika and third hitter Dallas Beavers to put runners on the corners with two out and cleanup hitter Rylan Thomas coming to the plate.
 
After a short visit from Stetson pitching coach Dave Therneau, and with closer Brooks Wilson ready in the bull pen, Gonzalez reached back to get a strikeout to end the inning. He went on to retire the Knights in order in the seventh, closing his night with 103 pitches.
 
He allowed four hits and one walk while striking out seven.
 
Wilson came on the eighth inning and slammed the door on UCF, getting a pair of strikeouts in the eighth inning before striking out the Knights' 3-4-5 hitters in the ninth to earn his third save in as many tries.
 
Offensively, the Hatters fared little better against the UCF pitching staff, stranding 10 runners on base despite getting just three hits. The five UCF hurlers who worked in the game combined to walk six and hit two others while striking out 14 Stetson hitters.
 
The only run of the night came in the third inning off UCF starter Thad Ward (0-1). Jacob Koos drew a walk to open the inning and moved to second on an Andrew MacNeil single. After Baylen Sparks walked to load the bases, junior Mike Spooner delivered a fly ball to center, deep enough for Koos to scamper home.
 
Stetson had runners in scoring position in the first, fourth and seventh innings, but had batters strikeout each time when a hit would have delivered some insurance.
 
The only hits in the game for Stetson came from MacNeil, Spooner and Jorge Arenas, who tripled to open the fourth inning but was left stranded.
 
The Hatters will try to extend their season-opening win streak to five games on Friday when they open a three-game weekend series at Melching Field against George Washington (0-3).
 
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.