It took almost four and half hours, but visiting Saint Louis finally blinked in the 14^th inning, helping Stetson take a 3-2 victory over the Billikens to close the opening day of play at the Westin Lake Mary Stetson Invitational.
 
Georgetown defeated Sacred Heart 11-0 earlier in the day to open the tournament.
 
The Hatters (2-6) and Billikens (3-5) combined to strikeout 35 times in the game, letting chance-after-chance to slip away. That changed in the 14^th when senior Jonathan Meola reached on a throwing error by SLU shortstop Kevin Jordan with two out in the frame.
 
A wild pitch moved Meola into scoring position, a place where the Hatters had already stranded 10 runners in the game. Sophomore Eric Foggo made the only error of the game hurt when he dropped a bloop single just out of reach of Billikens' second baseman Cole Dubet, drive Meola home with the winning run.
 
Stetson senior Vlad Nunez (1-1) picked up his first victory for the Hatters with two shutout innings of relief. He was the fourth Stetson hurler of the night, following starter Chris Gonzalez and relievers Austin Wood and Bret Neilan.
 
Colin Townsend (0-1), who was sparkling over 3.1 innings of relief for the Billikens, took the loss. He allowed just two hits with four strikeouts.
 
Stetson had to rally after falling behind 2-0 early in the game. A sudden rain shower in the first inning led to Gonzalez walking a pair of batters. Those walks, combined with a balk, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly, gave Saint Louis a 1-0 lead.
 
SLU third baseman Zach Frieling launched a solo home run in the fourth to account for the other Billikens run.
 
Overall, Gonzalez gave a solid performance on the mound, working seven innings, allowing the two runs on six hits with a career-high 10 strikeouts. Wood turned in two perfect innings in his first outing of the year and Neilan following with three strong.
 
Saint Louis starter Cody Luther kept the Hatters off balance through the first five innings, but surrendered back-to-back hits – a single from freshman Noah Dickerson in his first collegiate at bat and a hustle double from Jacob Koos – to open the sixth.
 
After a pitching change, Meola delivered a ground ball to plate Dickerson to get the Hatters on the board.
 
It was not until the ninth inning that Stetson was able to tie the game. Freshman Mark Townsend led off the inning with a single off SLU reliever Ryan Lefner. A sacrifice bunt and a balk moved him to third for Dickerson, who doubled to tie the game.
 
Stetson had a chance to win the game in the 11^th inning, but left the bases loaded. Stetson also left a pair of runners on base in the 13^th before finally plating the winning run in the 14^th.
 
Despite the long game, there were a total of just 16 hits. Dickerson and Foggo had two each to lead Stetson, which finished with nine. Frieling had two of the seven for Saint Louis.
 
The tournament will continue on Saturday at 1 p.m. when the Billikens square off against Sacred Heart. Stetson will face Georgetown in a game scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
 
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.