From the "you never know what you are going to see at the ball park" file, Stetson completed a weekend sweep of visiting Richmond on Sunday at Melching Field 5-1.
 
The Hatters improved to 13-1 on the year by posting their eighth consecutive victory while dropping the Spiders to 7-7 on the season.
 
The game, which started early due to the threat of afternoon thunderstorms, featured several dust-ups between the respective coaches and the umpires assigned to the game. These arguments results in Stetson coach Steve Trimper getting ejected in fifth inning and Richmond coach Tracy Woodson getting tossed in the sixth.
 
Hatters first baseman Baylen Sparks was at the center of both plays that resulted in the ejections, although there were numerous other disagreements with the officiating during the game.
 
Besides the fireworks with the umpires, the star of the game was Stetson sophomore left-hander Mitchell Senger, who improved to 3-0 in four starts this year by holding the Spiders to just one infield hit over seven innings of work with 11 strikeouts.
 
The only hit Richmond managed in the game was a slow roller toward past Senger toward the bag at second. Stetson's Bruce Martin fielded the ball, but double-clutched on the throw, allowing D.J. Lee to reach base safely.
 
The Hatters got on the board in the third inning against Spiders starter Robbie Baker (1-1) when Andrew MacNeil blasted a two-out triple off the wall in right and then scored on a single by Sparks.
 
The score remained 1-0 into the fifth when Richmond's Justin Cook chopped a ground ball to third. Jonathan Meola's throw to first was high, but Sparks was able to pull it in and apply the tag on Cook for what appeared to be the second out. Woodson came out to argue the play and, after a meeting, the umpire crew overturned the call, awarding Cook first base.
 
Trimper's arguments on the reversal fell on deaf ears and eventually led to his ejection by first base ump, and crew chief, Ray Parrish. After a wild pitch moved the runner into scoring position, Stetson pitching coach Dave Therneau paid a visit to the mound to calm Senger down. The move worked as Senger got a ground ball to first for an out (leading to another argument) and then a strikeout looking of former Hatter Sage Bruhl to end the inning.
 
The called third strike on Bruhl also led to more loud disagreements with the home plate ump.
 
Things went wild again in the sixth after MacNeil drew a leadoff walk. Sparks followed, lifting a foul fly behind the bag at first that, from the pressbox and the video replay, appeared to have been caught by Richmond second baseman Daniel Brumbaugh with his back to the plate.
 
Parrish had the call on the play and clearly signaled an out, but plate umpire Carlos Rey over-ruled the call, evidently correctly, that Brumbaugh caught the ball on a bounce. The reversal resulted in Woodson getting ejected, but not before he clearly yelled at the umpire to throw him out of the game.
 
With new life, Sparks singled before Austin Hale drew a walk to load the bases. Jorge Arenas and Austin Bogart followed with sacrifice flies to increase the Hatter lead to 3-0.
 
Richmond was able to score its only run of the day in the eighth inning after sophomore reliever Ryan Stark issued a one-out walk to Lee. Stark made a wild pickoff throw attempt, allowing Lee to advance all the way to third before Bruhl grounded to first, scoring the unearned run.
 
Senior closer Brooks Wilson came on to get the final out of the inning, insuring no further damage.
 
In the bottom of the inning the Hatters sent eight men to the plate, scoring a pair of insurance runs on a single by Sparks, his third of the day, and a bases loaded walk to Bogart.
 
Wilson retired the Spiders in order in the ninth, earning his NCAA best eighth save of the year.
 
For Senger, it was his fourth consecutive quality start to open the season. He has now allowed just seven hits in 26.1 innings on the year, with just one earned run while recording 45 strikeouts.
 
Sparks and MacNeil carried the load offensively, combining for five of the seven Stetson hits in the game.
 
The Hatters' current eight-game win streak is the 39^th streak of at least eight games in program history. Stetson will look to make it nine in a row – something that has been done just 21 times – on Tuesday night when the Hatters open a rare two-game mid-week series against Army West Point. The Black Knights (6-7) were swept in a three-game series this weekend by Rutgers in a series that was played in Fort Myers.
 
Game times for both Tuesday and Wednesday's games are set for 6:30 p.m.
 
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.