The Stetson Hatters had been looking for some offensive magic all night against Central Michigan on a chilly Saturday evening at Melching Field.
 
Sophomore Andrew MacNeil provided all the firepower the Hatters needed, blasting a two-out, pinch-hit, three-run home run in the ninth inning off Chippewas' closer Dazon Cruz to give Stetson a 5-3 victory to close out the second day of play in the Westin Lake Mary Stetson Invitational.
 
Purdue defeated Virginia Tech 12-5 in the opening game on Saturday.
 
The Hatters (8-1) and Boilermakers (8-1) will square off on Sunday at 1 p.m. with the tournament title, and possibly national rankings, in the balance. Central Michigan (2-7-1) will face Virginia Tech (3-7) on Sunday evening.
 
CMU starting pitcher Pat Leatherwood kept the Stetson offense, with the exception of sophomore Jorge Arenas, in check all night. The junior right-hander took a lead 3-2 lead into the ninth inning, but came out in favor of Cruz after Brooks Wilson led off the inning with a solid single and then moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Austin Hale.
 
The hard-throwing Cruz got Austin Bogart to fly out to right for the second out of the inning, but the ball was deep enough for Wilson to advance to third. After Arenas, who had the Hatters only other hits off Leatherman, drew a walk, MacNeil came to the plate as a pinch hitter.
 
Cruz fired three consecutive fastballs and, on the third, MacNeil blasted the pitch over the wall in right, sending the Hatters, and the 928 fans in attendance, into a celebratory frenzy.
 
Ironically, it was MacNeil who last delivered a walk-off hit for the Hatters, doing so last May 14 with a single to defeat North Florida 2-1.
 
The blast handed the victory to junior Joey Gonzalez (2-0), who came into the game in relief of starter Jack Perkins in the sixth inning. It was in that frame when the Chippewas did all their damage offensively.
 
Perkins retired the first 12 hitters he faced in the game, and then worked around a leadoff single in the fifth. In the sixth inning, he allowed a pair of runners – one on a walk and the other on a single by Zach Gilles – but was within an out of escaping the inning when CMU's Evan Kratt delivered a double to put the Chippewas on the board.
 
Another walk followed, loading the bases. Gonzalez came in to face Jason Sullivan and worked to a full count before Sullivan singled to left center, scoring two runs for a 3-2 CMU lead.
 
Gonzalez got a strikeout to end the inning and then held Central Michigan right there the rest of the way. He allowed just the one hit over 3.1 innings of work while walking two and striking out four. Perkins surrendered three runs on just three hits with two walks and four strikeouts on his ledger.
 
Stetson did all of its scoring in the second inning against Leatherman when Arenas delivered a two-run single, scoring Wilson, who had walked, and Hale, who was hit by a pitch.
 
Arenas reached again in the fourth inning, stealing his second base of the night and advancing to third on a failed pickoff attempt by Leatherman, but was left stranded there. Stetson managed just one other base runner, Hale on a walk in the sixth, the rest of the way until the ninth.
 
Leatherman worked 8.1 innings and allowed three runs on just three hits with three walks and 10 strikeouts. He threw 136 pitches on the evening.
 
Sunday's championship game will see Stetson sophomore Mitchell Senger (2-0) go back to the mound off his no-hit performance last week. The Hatters' left-hander will square off against Purdue junior left-hander Ryan Beard (0-0), who will be making his third start of the year, but has thrown just 6.2 innings.
 
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.