Orlando – Early seasons struggles continued for the Stetson Hatters on Tuesday night at UCF in a 10-2 loss to the Knights at John Euliano Park.
Stetson fell to 0-4 on the year with the loss while UCF improved to 4-0.
Things went wrong for the Hatters almost from the start. After a quiet first inning, Stetson starting pitcher
Vlad Nunez (0-1) lost control of the strike zone in the second. After allowing consecutive singles, he walked three straight to force home a pair of runs for a 2-0 UCF lead.
Stetson answered in the top of the third when
Jacob Koos singled and then scored on a two-run
Austin Bogart home run off UCF starter Jaylyin Whitehead (1-0).
Those were the only runs Whitehead would allow in his five innings of work. The redshirt junior scattered just four hits with three walks and three strikeouts in his first collegiate start.
UCF blew the game open in the third inning off Hatters' sophomore
Chris Gonzalez, scoring five runs on five hits but with the help of a big error. Four of the five runs in the inning were unearned.
The Knights tacked on two runs in the fourth off freshman
Mike Materetsky, who walked both hitters he faced, and then got a solo home run from Ray Alejo in the fifth off
Nick Chiseri to push the lead to 10-2.
The one bright spot in the game for Stetson was the performance of sophomore
Zemp Schwab on the mound. The big right-hander worked two scoreless innings in relief and struck out four while allowing just one hit.
Freshman
Daniel Paret also turned in a solid out with a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth.
Stetson managed just four hits in the game against five UCF pitchers.
The Hatters will be back home at Melching Field on Saturday night to open a four-game series against Siena. First pitch is scheduled 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.
