After struggling with his command in his last outing at Maryland, Stetson junior
Jack Perkins didn't want to wait around to make his next start.
The Ocala native jumped to the front of the Hatters' rotation for their Easter weekend series against Volusia County rival Bethune-Cookman and returned to form in leading Stetson to an 8-2 victory Thursday night.
Stetson improved to 21-5 on the year while the Wildcats fell to 10-16.
Perkins (3-2) worked six solid innings on the mound, allowing just one unearned run on two hits. He walked two, struck out three and hit two batters in his outing.
Junior
Vlad Nunez worked two scoreless frames in relief with three strikeouts before freshman
Zemp Schwab made his collegiate debut in the ninth, allowing a run on two hits in his first game action in more than a year.
The Hatters game Perkins and the other Stetson hurlers all the runs they would need in the first inning thanks to some control problems for BCU starter Jeremy Adams (1-3). After
Mike Spooner opened the game with an infield single, Adams walked three batters to force in a run. A wild pitch scored another run before Adams hit
Andrew MacNeil to reload the bases.
The Wildcats went to the pen, bringing in sophomore Isaak Gutierrez with three in and the bases loaded.
Jonathan Meola greeted him with a sacrifice fly for a 4-0 lead before Gutierrez was able to get a ground ball to get out of the inning.
Stetson pushed the lead to 5-0 with a run in the third on a two-out Meola single to score
Brooks Wilson.
BCU got on the board in the sixth inning when Zach Spivey reached on an error to start the inning, stole second and then scored on a pinch-hit single by Jake Hellweg.
The Hatters added an insurance run in the seventh when
Baylen Sparks doubled off reliever Brandon Wilkes and then scored on a throwing error. Two more Wildcats errors in the eight allowed the Hatters to add two more runs. One scored on a cue shot ground ball from
Austin Bogart and then other on a two-out single by
Jorge Arenas.
The Wildcats scored a run in the ninth on a two-out single by Ian Claudio, who was thrown out at second by MacNeil to end the game.
Spooner, who left the game in the fourth inning with a sore wrist, joined with Arenas and Sparks to post two hits each. Cookman catcher Chase DeBonis led the Wildcats with two hits in the game.
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.
