Twice during the 2018 season, then freshman Eric Foggo came up one hit shy of hitting for the cycle.
 
He finally got that elusive fourth hit on Thursday night in support of fellow sophomore Chris Gonzalez in a 9-3 series opening victory over Kennesaw State.
 
Foggo sparked the Hatters (17-19, 6-4) after the visiting Owls (17-22, 4-6) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Kennesaw State got consecutive singles to start the game before Justin Russell delivered a two-run triple. Russell was able to score on the first of three Stetson errors in the game before Gonzalez (6-0) was able to get out of the opening inning.
 
Stetson answered in the second inning off KSU starter Brooks Buckler (2-4), sending nine batters to the plate in the inning and scoring five runs.
 
Baylen Sparks singled to get things started before Noah Dickerson drew a walk. Foggo got a fastball on the first pitch he saw and blasted the pitch off the scoreboard in left, knotting the score at 3-3.
 
Austin Bogart singled to keep the inning going before Andrew MacNeil walked. After a sac bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Jacob Koos delivered a two-run single to left, giving Stetson a 5-3 lead.
 
It was the Sparks-Dickerson-Foggo connection that got things going again in the third for Stetson. Sparks doubled to open the frame before Dickerson singled him to third. Foggo followed with blast to deep right-center, driving in both runners with his first triple of the year. Foggo then scored on a wild pitch for an 8-3 Hatters lead.
 
Stetson closed out the scoring in the fourth inning when Koos led off with a double, moved up to third on a bloop single to center by Kyle Ball and then scored on a double play ground ball.
 
After shaking off the rough first inning, Gonzalez kept the Owls off balance for the next seven innings. He only ran into real trouble once during that stretch, in the fifth when KSU loaded the bases on three well-placed singles. Gonzalez stranded those three runners with a ground ball to end the inning, three of the nine KSU runners he left stranded during the game.
 
Gonzalez allowed just the three first inning runs, two earned, while scattering 10 hits. He walked one and struck out five. Freshman Danny Garcia closed out the game in the ninth inning.
 
As for Foggo, he was the beneficiary of some help from Mother Nature to collect his cycle. He hit a towering fly ball into left in the fifth inning that KSU's Garrett Hodges never saw against the blue-gray twilight sky. By the time the ball landed softly in left, Foggo was standing on second with a double.
 
Foggo came to bat again in the seventh inning in what turned out to be his final at bat. Facing sophomore reliever Rhian Mann, Foggo hit a fly ball into shallow right center that, with the wind blowing in from right at 10-15 miles per hour, was too deep for second baseman Jaylen Smith to get to, but too shallow for either outfielder to track down.
 
The single completed the cycle for the Hilton Head Island, SC, native and drew a standing ovation from the crowd of 637 in attendance at the game.
 
The Stetson record book does not indicate when the last time a Hatters player recorded a cycle, but it is save to say it has been a number of years since it happened last.
 
In addition to the four hits from Foggo, Koos finished the game with three hits while Sparks and Dickerson had two each as part of a 13-hit attack. Terence Norman had three hits to lead the Owls.
 
The second game of the series will get an early start on Friday, with a noon first pitch, in an attempt to get the game in before the severe weather that is forecast for later in the afternoon rolls in. Freshman Daniel Paret (2-1, 4.98) is scheduled to make the start on the mound for the Hatters against KSU sophomore left-hander Ryan Kennedy (3-2, 5.02).
 
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.