Jacksonville, Fla. – The Stetson Hatters made an early statement on Wednesday afternoon at Harmon Stadium on the UNF campus, scoring three times in the first inning in route to a 7-2 victory over NJIT in the opening game of the ASUN Tournament.
The win runs Stetson's NCAA best active win streak to 12 games while improving the Hatters' overall record to 42-11 on the year. NJIT, playing in its first ASUN Tournament, falls to 22-24 on the year with the loss.
The early runs, plus two more in the fourth inning and single runs in the seventh and eighth, were more than enough for Stetson junior
Joey Gonzalez (8-3) who made his first start against an ASUN foe this year. A second team All-Conference selection, Gonzalez held the Highlanders to just one run on five hits through six innings of work before leaving the game in capable hands.
Junior
Jack Perkins, a first team All-Conference pick, and senior
Brooks Wilson, the ASUN Player of the Year, combined to work the final three frames to close out the victory.
Wilson had a big hand in the offensive production as well. He singled home a run off NJIT starter Sean Lubreski (4-6) in the first and then came in to score on a single by
Jorge Arenas. Wilson plated another run in the seventh with a single.
After NJIT plated a run in the third on a two-out single by Jesse Uttendorfer,
Andrew MacNeil gave Stetson a booth, blasting a two-run homer in the fourth inning.
NJIT got a leadoff double from freshman Julio Marcano off Wilson to lead off the eighth and managed to get him home by moving him to third on a fly ball and scoring him on a ground out.
Arenas got that run back in the bottom of the inning, launching the first pitch he saw from reliever Jake Rappaport for a solo home run, his third.
Wilson and Arenas had two hits each to lead the Hatters' 10-hit attack. Uttendorfer and Marcano had two hits each to lead NJIT.
Both the Hatters and Highlanders will have to wait to see who they will play on Thursday. NJIT will square off against the loser of the Jacksonville-Lipscomb game in an elimination game at 11 a.m. Stetson will face the loser of Wednesday's late game between host North Florida and Kennesaw State.
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.
