The Stetson baseball team found the runs few and far between on Sunday at Melching Field in an ASUN double-header against NJIT.
 
The Hatters took the opening game 1-0 behind the pitching of freshman Daniel Paret and a solo home run from Jorge Arenas. The second game, which was scheduled for seven innings, went to the eighth before NJIT plated a pair of runs to take a 3-1 victory.
 
Stetson moved to 14-17 overall on the season, including a 4-2 record in league play. The loss in the final game of the series snapped the Hatters' 11-game regular season ASUN win streak. NJIT moved to 10-15-1 overall, 3-6 in the ASUN.
 
The Hatters will close out a five-game home stand on Tuesday night when they host Bethune-Cookman in a game scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start. The team will be on the road next weekend for a series against ASUN newcomer Liberty in Lynchburg, Va.
 

Game 1 – Paret Deals in 1-0 Stetson Win

 
Freshman left-hander Daniel Paret (2-0) turned in the best performance of his young career, shutting out the visiting Highlanders over eight innings while allowing seven hits. Paret posted a career-high 12 strikeouts in the outing.
 
Paret struck out at least one batter in every inning but the fifth and escaped without allowing a run in the eighth inning thanks to a perfect throw from Baylen Sparks in left to nail NJIT's David Marcano at the plate as he tried to score on a hit by Brett Helmkamp.
 
Senior Vlad Nunez came on in relief of Paret for the ninth inning and needed to throw just three pitches to earn his sixth save of the year.
 
The only run of the game came off the bat of Arenas, a solo home run in the sixth inning off NJIT starter Tyler Stafflinger (1-2), who went the distance for the Highlanders, allowing just the one run on three hits over eight innings of work.
 

Game 2 – NJIT Plates Two Late To Avoid Sweep

 
NJIT was able to avoid being swept by scoring a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning off Stetson freshman Danny Garcia (3-1) to take a 3-1 victory in game two.
 
Julio Marcano led off the inning with a single and was sacrificed to second by his twin brother David. Matt Cocciadiferro reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners before Nick Hussey hit a ground ball to third to score Marcano. Helmkamp followed with an RBI single to give the Highlanders a 3-1 lead.
 
Stetson tried to answer in the bottom of the inning off NJIT starter Sean Lubreski (4-4). Jacob Koos reached on an error to start the inning and Arenas followed with a hit. After the first out of the inning was recorded, Austin Dilbert reached on a fielder's choice ground ball to third that retired Koos. Both Dilbert and Arenas moved into scoring position on a wild throw by Jared Donnelly.
 
Lubreski was able to finish off the complete game performance by getting Noah Dickerson on a fly ball to center.
 
NJIT managed just one run on five hits off Stetson starter Robbie Peto, who had his best outing of the year for the Hatters. Peto worked seven strong innings, allowing just one run on five hits with six strikeouts.
 
The only run he allowed came in the second inning on a ground ball by Paul Franzoni, scoring Helmkamp from third.
 
Stetson's only run in the second game came the same way the Hatters scored in the first – on a solo home run. Junior catcher Benito Varela accounted for the blast in game two, hitting it out down the line in left.
 
Stetson had just nine hits on the day, with three of those coming off the bat of Arenas, who is now leading the team with a .323 average on the year. Helmkamp had five hits on the day for the Highlanders.
 
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.