Stetson had plenty of opportunities to secure its post-season appearance on Friday night, but the Hatters stranded 11 runners on base, including eight in scoring position, in dropping a 7-6 decision to North Florida.
 
The loss, which snapped a nine-game win streak against UNF, leaves the Hatters (23-30, 10-12) in a precarious position going into the final day of the 2019 regular season. Stetson needs a series clinching victory over UNF (31-22, 12-10) or a Jacksonville victory over Kennesaw State to extend its streak of appearances in the ASUN Tournament to 20 years.
 
Kennesaw State kept its post-season hopes alive early on Friday with a 10-0 victory over the Dolphins. Both games are scheduled for a 1 p.m. start on Saturday.
 
Both teams got off to a fast start on Friday, with UNF scoring an unearned run in the first before Stetson answered with two in the bottom of the inning. The Hatters had a chance for more, but left two on base.
 
Jorge Arenas singled to center to plate the first Stetson run off UNF starter Nick Marchese. Baylen Sparks followed with a ground ball to give the Hatters a 2-1 lead.
 
The Ospreys got things going in the third inning, getting five hits off Stetson starter Chris Gonzalez (7-3) to score three runs. Tanner Murphy, who reached on an error and scored in the first, had a two-run single with David Mayberry, who singled in the run in the first, following with an RBI single.
 
UNF pushed its lead to 7-2 in the fifth inning, chasing Gonzalez. Max Law led off the frame with a single before Chris Berry tripled to left. After a fly out and an intentional walk, Mayberry struck for his third hit, a two-run single.
 
Freshman Danny Garcia came on out of the Stetson pen and held the Ospreys at bay the rest of the way. He allowed just two hits over 4.1 innings of work.
 
The Ospreys went to their pen for freshman left-hander Ryan Jean (2-0) in the fifth and, despite walking four over two innings, he allowed just two runs on two hits. A walk to Andrew MacNeil with the bases loaded in the sixth forced the first run home, but the Hatters ended the inning with the bases loaded.
 
Jean walked the first batter he faced in the seventh and was relieved by senior right-hander Trace Norkus. After getting a ground ball, Norkus surrendered a single to Sparks, an RBI double to Kyle Ball and a two-run double to Noah Dickerson to cut the deficit to 7-6.
 
Norkus avoided further damage with consecutive strikeouts to strand Dickerson at second.
 
Stetson got a leadoff hit from MacNeil in the eighth and moved him into scoring position, but Norkus escaped with a strikeout and a fly ball to end the inning.
 
The Hatters had one final chance in the ninth when Sparks led off with an infield hit. Pinch runner Austin Dilbert was sacrificed to second before UNF called on closer Eddie Miller, a side-winding left-hander. Miller got Dickerson on a foul pop and then struck out Mark Townsend to end the game, earning his eighth save of the year.
 
Sparks had three hits in the game to lead the Hatters while MacNeil and Ball had two each. Mayberry led UNF with three hits, driving in four, while Berry and Murphy had two hits each.
 
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.