Jacksonville, Fla. – Sometimes all you need is one well-timed and well-placed hit.
Such was the case for Stetson on Thursday afternoon in a 2-1 victory over Kennesaw State on day two of the 2018 ASUN Baseball Tournament at UNF's Harmon Stadium.
With the victory, Stetson (43-11) extended the nation's longest active win streak to 13 games and advanced to face the winner of Thursday night's game between North Florida and Jacksonville on Friday morning at 11 a.m. The winner of that game will move forward to Saturday's ASUN Championship game.
Kennesaw State's season comes to an end with a 25-30 mark.
After being completely stifled by Kennesaw State junior right-hander Brooks Buckler (4-4) through the first six innings, the Hatters found just enough life in the seventh.
Brooks Wilson drew a one-out walk to open things and
Eric Foggo followed with a single to left. After a fly ball failed to advance the runners, junior
Jonathan Meola came to the plate with a chance to be the hero.
Meola, who already owned one of the just three hits for the Hatters to that point, delivered with a double to right center. Foggo hustled from the crack of the bat and slid home safely, just ahead of the relay throw, giving the Hatters a 2-1 lead.
Two-time ASUN Pitcher of the Year
Logan Gilbert (10-1) was the beneficiary of the late-inning heroics. The junior struck out nine during his seven innings of work, but the Owls were able to touch him for six hits.
It was consecutive two-out hits in the fourth inning – a double by Jake Franklin and an RBI single by Terence Norman – that put the Owls in front.
Gilbert allowed consecutive hits in the first, fourth and fifth innings, but was able to escape in the first and fifth with no damage. He closed his outing by retiring the final seven batters he faced.
His nine strikeouts give him 143 on the year, which ranks seventh in ASUN history.
After getting the lead, the Hatters saved Wilson for the ninth inning by using freshman
Austin Wood and senior
Ben Onyshko in the eighth inning. Wood retired the top two hitters in the KSU order on strikes, both looking, before Onyshko got a ground out to end the frame.
In the ninth, Wilson struck out the first hitter before allowing a double. He then got Norman and Griffin Helms on strikes to end the game and earn his NCAA best 20
th save of the year. He is just the 25
th player in NCAA history to have recorded 20 or more saves in a season.
The Hatters finished with just five hits in the game with Meola and
Mike Spooner accounting for two each. Franklin and Tyler Simon had two hits each for KSU, which finished the game with just seven.
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.
