After three batters on Friday night in the ASUN opener for Stetson, redshirt freshman Nick Durgin wasn't thinking about setting a new career high for strikeouts. The only thing on his mind was surviving the opening frame against visiting FGCU.
 
After surrendering a two-run homer to Joe Kinker, Durgin settled down to get a line out and a strikeout to get out of the inning. Stetson got a run back for the right-hander in the bottom of the inning, but it was up to Durgin to keep the potent FGCU lineup at bay.
 
He did that, in a big way, leading Stetson to a 7-5 victory.
 
Durgin allowed two hits to the Eagles (12-8, 0-1) in the first, and two more in the second, then nothing for the next five innings. When Brian Ellis singled to open the eighth inning, with Stetson (15-7, 1-0) up 7-2, it snapped a stretch of 12 straight hitters retired by Durgin.
 
He answered that single in the eighth with three consecutive strikeouts to finish with a career-high 14. Of those strikeouts, 12 came against the middle of the FGCU batting order, hitters two through five.
 
While Durgin was handling the Eagles bats, the top of the Stetson order was beating up on the FGCU ace, Mason Studstill. Andrew MacNeil and Hernen Sardinas combined to record six hits and, together with Kyle Ball, scored all seven Stetson runs. Sardinas finished with a season-high four runs batted in, three of which came on his fifth inning home run.
 
FGCU mounted a rally in the ninth inning, scoring three times and putting the tying run in scoring position, but Danny Garcia finished off the rally with a strikeout of Kinker to end the game.
 
The Hatters and Eagles will be back at it on Saturday evening at Melching Field in the second game of the series. The first pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.
 
Game Facts

• Win – Nick Durgin (4-1)
• Loss – Mason Studstill (2-2)
• Save – Danny Garcia (5)
• Time – 2:53

Scoring Summary

• T1 – After Brian Ellis opened the game with a single to right, Joe Kinker hit a towering home run down the left field line to give FGCU an early 2-0 lead.
• B1 – Andrew MacNeil led off the inning with a single but was erased on a double play. Hernen Sardinas followed with his 11^th double of the year and Brandon Hylton brought him home with a triple into the right-field corner.
• B5 – MacNeil doubled with one out and Kyle Ball drew a walk. After a wild pitch moved both runners up, they got to jog home on a three-run homer by Sardinas, giving Stetson a 4-2 lead.
• B7 – The top three in the order – MacNeil, Ball and Sardinas – set the offense in motion again with three straight hits. Sardinas drove in his fourth run of the night with his single. After a wild pitch moved Sardinas to second, and Banks Griffith was hit by a pitch, Eric Foggo and Nick DiPonzio delivered consecutive sacrifice flies to give Stetson a 7-2 lead.
• T9 – The Hatters turned the game over to the bullpen in the ninth inning, but Cameron Krzeminski welcomed Stetson reliever Nick Chiseri with a double. Two walks and a strikeout later, Danny Garcia entered with the bases loaded and the game in the balance. He walked in a run and surrendered an RBI single to Ellis, bringing the potential go-ahead run to the plate. Garcia finished off the game by getting a ground ball before striking out Kinker for the final out. 

Hatters Notes

• Infielder Banks Griffith returned to the starting lineup for the Hatters for the first time in 10 days.
• Sardinas picked up his NCAA best 11^th double of the season as part of his sixth multi-hit performance in the last seven games.
• Brandon Hylton picked up his third triple of the year to move into sole possession of the national lead in that category.
• Durgin's 14 strikeouts were not only a career-high, they were the most in a game by a single Stetson pitcher since Mitchell Senger struck out 16 in his no-hitter against George Washington on February 24, 2018.
• With the win, Stetson has tied the all-time series against FGCU at 20-20. The Hatters have won each of the last eight games in the series.
• The three-hit game for MacNeil was the fourth of his career and first since May 24, 2019, at Jacksonville. His two runs scored increased his ASUN best season total to 28 on the year.

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.