After pounding out a season-high 18 hits on Saturday night, the Stetson bats went back into cold storage on Sunday afternoon at Melching Field.
 
Much of the credit for the chill was the performance turned in on the mound by former Hatter Austin Bogart (2-2), who held Stetson to just five hits over six innings in leading North Florida (11-16, 5-4) to a series-clinching 7-1 victory over Stetson.
 
Bogart, who received his undergraduate degree from Stetson in 2019, is at UNF as a graduate transfer. A two-way player, he hit a home run in Friday's game before cooling the Hatters' bats on Sunday. A left-handed thrower, Bogart used an array of breaking balls and off-speed pitches to coax 10 ground balls in his six innings of work. His defense helped out, turning a pair of double-plays behind him.
 
Stetson (20-12, 6-3) also ran into an inning-ending double-play in the fifth inning, scuttling the Hatters' best scoring chance against Bogart. With runners on the corners after Banks Griffith led off with a double and Nick DiPonzio followed with a single, Bogart got former teammate Jorge Arenas to pop out to shallow left before getting another former mate, Andrew MacNeil, to chase a pitch out of the zone for strike three, with DiPonzio thrown out trying to steal on the play.
 
The Ospreys gave Bogart all the run support he needed within the first five hitters of the game against Stetson starter Bret Neilan (1-2). UNF jumped on Neilan with a single, a double, a sacrifice fly and a three-run homer for an early 4-0 lead. UNF never looked back from there.
 
Even Stetson's regular Friday starter, Nick Durgin, wasn't immune from the UNF attack. After throwing just eight pitches on Friday before an almost two-hour weather delay, Durgin came on in the second inning and allowed five hits, all singles, over 1.2 innings of work. He only allowed one run, but was bailed out by freshman Jonathan Gonzalez in the fourth inning when the lefty stranded a pair of runners on base.
 
Gonzalez turned in a strong performance, retiring the first 10 hitters he faced before a walk and a pair of errors allowed UNF to plate a pair of unearned runs in the seventh inning.
 
Stetson managed to avoid being shut out by scoring an unearned run in the ninth inning thanks to an overthrow from the outfield on a single by Eric Foggo, allowing Brandon Hylton to score from second base.
 
The Hatters are scheduled to be back in action on Tuesday night in Miami against FIU, closing out the season series against the Panthers. The teams were originally scheduled to play five times this year, but will only end up playing twice, if Tuesday's scheduled game is completed. Stetson took a 6-3 decision over FIU in the only previous meeting this year.
 
Stetson will continue ASUN play next weekend at Florida Gulf Coast.
 
Game Facts

• Win – Austin Bogart (2-2)
• Loss – Bret Neilan (1-2)
• Time – 2:47 

Scoring Summary

• T1 – UNF went to work right away against Stetson starter Bret Neilan. A leadoff single was followed by a ground rule double. After a sacrifice fly plated a run, and a walk put another runner on base, Blake Marabell blasted a three-run homer for a 4-0 Ospreys lead.
• T3 – Consecutive singles to open the inning set the stage, but Durgin looked like he would escape with no damage when he struck out the next two hitters, but Tanner Clark dropped a hit in front of Hernen Sardinas in right to plate a run for a 5-0 UNF lead.
• T7 – UNF got two runners on base thanks to a walk and a Stetson error. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Marabell plated one with a sacrifice fly and Aidan Sweatt plated the second with a single to left for a 7-0 UNF lead.
• B9 – Hylton singled to left-center off UNF's Friday starter Tony Roca and then moved up to second on a wild pitch. Foggo delivered a single up the middle to move Hylton to third, and he scampered home when Marabell's throw from center missed the cutoff man and rolled into foul territory between home and first.

Hatters Notes

• After making 12 consecutive starts to open his career, redshirt freshman Nick Durgin pitched in relief for the first time in his career. The move didn't work out for Durgin, who allowed one run on five hits over 1.2 innings of work.
• Stetson's run in the ninth inning prevented the Hatters from being shutout for the first time since May 10, 2019, at Jacksonville. Stetson has now played 58 games since last being blanked.
• Kyle Ball extended his team-best hitting and on-base streaks to 12 games and 24 games respectively with his two-out single in the eighth inning.
• Christian Pregent extended his streak of games reaching base to 17 with a walk in the series finale.

 
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.