Nothing came easy for the Stetson Hatters to open the 2021 baseball season at Melching Field. Visiting Florida A&M made sure of that.
 
But the Hatters still came away from Saturday's double-header with a season-opening sweep, winning the opener 6-3 before taking the second game 1-0 behind a complete-game outing by freshman left-hander Anthony DeFabbia.
 
The Hatters and Rattlers will go right back to work tomorrow with another double-header, with the opener scheduled for a noon start.
 
Game 1 Facts

• W – Nick Durgin (1-0)
• L – Kyle Coleman (0-1)
• SV – Danny Garcia (1)
• Time – 2:56

 
Game 1 Scoring Summary

• B1 – After Kyle Ball reached on an error, Brandon Hylton launched a line drive out to right for his first career home run and a 2-0 Stetson lead.
• B2 – Nick DiPonzio led off with a solo home run, his first as a Hatter, for a 3-0 Stetson lead.
• T3 – Seyjuan Lawrence drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a single by Joseph Pierini and scored on a single by Jared Weber, cutting the Hatters' lead to 3-1.
• B3 – Andrew MacNeil walked to start the inning, moved up to third on a hit-and-run single by Ball, and scored on a wild pitch for a 4-1 Stetson lead.
• B5 – MacNeil was hit by a pitch to open the inning and Ball followed with a line drive homer to right for a 6-3 Stetson lead. It was Ball's second career home run.
• T7 - Pierini led off against reliever Nick Chiseri with a single and Weber followed one out later with a two-run homer to provide the final runs of the game.

 
Game 2 Facts

• W – Anthony DeFabbia (1-0)
• L – Josh Hancock (0-1)
• Time – 1:52

 
Game 2 Scoring Summary

• B6 - After the game was delayed several minutes when the outfield sprinklers came on, Hernen Sardinas, who had three of the five hits in the game for Stetson, ripped a two-out double into the right field corner. Freshman Dylan Brazil pinch ran for Sardinas and scampered around to score when DiPonzio blistered a 2-2 pitch from Hancock right at FAMU shortstop, Adam Haiadermota. The ball took a big bounce over Haiadermota's head and into left, allowing Brazil to score the only run of the game.

 
Hatters Notes

• Graduate Jorge Arenas started both at second base. It was his first starts at the position since March 14, 2017. Arenas has started the majority of the 192 games in his career at shortstop, but has also made starts at second and third base.
• Junior Kyle Ball made his first career starts at shortstop. Ball has split time between second and third base in all of his previous 85 career starts.
• Graduate transfer Jackson Olson started opening day at third base after having spent his career at Hartford playing both second base and shortstop.
• The nine players in the opening day starting lineup for the Hatters had started a combined 861 collegiate games entering the 2021 season.
• The victory in the opener for the Hatters was the 500^th for Stetson at Melching Field, which opened for the 1999 season.
• With the opening win, Hatters coach Steve Trimper improved to 3-2 in opening day games. The two victories give him 595 wins in his career as a head coach.
• MacNeil was hit by a pitch twice in the first game, moving him into sole possession of third place on the Stetson career list with 35. He is still 13 behind all-time leader Patrick Mazeika (48).
• Nick Chiseri made his first appearance in a game for Stetson since February 24, 2019.
• Nick Durgin worked 5.2 innings in his start, allowing one run on three hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. The walks were twice what he allowed in four appearances in 2020.
• After going hitless, with two walks, in his first game for the Hatters, Sardinas was a perfect 3-for-3 in the second game. He now has 192 career hits.
• MacNeil reached base five times from the leadoff spot in the double-header, but had just one hit.
• The complete game performance for DeFabbia was the first for a Stetson freshman since Brooks Wilson went the distance over nine innings against Harvard on March 13, 2015.
• DeFabbia is the first Stetson freshman to throw a complete-game/shutout since Chris Ingoglia blanked Lipscomb 4-0 in a seven-inning game on May 8, 2004.

 
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.