After three near misses against nationally-ranked Florida this year, the Stetson Hatters decided they had had enough with near misses, downing the Gators 6-1 on Tuesday night at Melching Field in DeLand.
 
It was the first career victory for Hatters' coach Steve Trimper over Florida, and was the first win for Stetson over the Gators since 2007, snapping an eight-game losing streak in the series.
 
Stetson (25-20) got strong performances on the mound from Garner Spoljaric, Jovan Gill and Danny Garcia, holding the normally potent Florida (33-15) offense to just three hits, tying their season-low.
 
While that trio was keeping the Florida bats quiet, the Hatters were waiting for a break-out hit. The Hatters didn't get their first hit until the fourth inning, and didn't mount a serious offensive threat until the seventh. In that inning, Stetson loaded the bases against Trey Van Der Weid before getting a pinch-hit single from freshman Ryne Guida to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Still, Florida carried momentum out of that inning because sophomore reliever Christian Scott, who surrendered the Guida hit on the first pitch he threw, settled down to strike out the next three Stetson batters, leaving the bases loaded.
 
But Garcia didn't allow that momentum to turn into a Florida rally. He got through the middle of the Gators' batting order in short order in the eighth thanks to an inning-ending double play, and the Hatters picked right up where they left off.
 
Sophomore right-hander Ben Specht, the fifth of six Florida pitchers in the game, got in trouble right away by hitting Kyle Ball with a pitch to open the Stetson eighth. Hernen Sardinas followed with a single to put runners on the corners before Banks Griffith drove Ball home with a ground out, hustling down the line to prevent a double play.
 
That proved to be beneficial when Eric Foggo followed with a blast deep over the fence in left-center to give Stetson a 4-1 lead.
 
The inning continued when Jorge Arenas was hit by a pitch and Connor Kehl followed with a single. Florida went back to its pen to bring in left-hander Ryan Cabarcas. The freshman was close to getting out of the inning despite throwing a wild pitch to put both runners in scoring position. He got a strikeout for the second out of the inning before jumping ahead of Andrew MacNeil 0-2.
 
MacNeil was able to lay off a couple of sliders out of the strike zone to draw even in the count before getting a hanging slider. He ripped the pitch into the right field corner, scoring both runners for a 6-1 lead.
 
Garcia went back to the mound to try to finish the game, but surrendered a leadoff double to Sterlin Thompson, but the sophomore retired the next two Gators on strikes before getting a fly ball to left to end the game.  
 
The Hatters will close the regular season this weekend, hosting Jacksonville on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. before returning to Harmon Stadium next Sunday for a 3 p.m. start against the Ospreys. Those games will not count in the ASUN standings.
 
Game Facts

• Win – Danny Garcia (3-1)
• Loss – Ben Specht (0-2)
• Time – 2:50 

Scoring Summary

• T2 – Florida loaded the bases with two outs thanks to two walks and an error. Jacob Young then hit a ground ball to third base for what should have been the final out, but Griffith stumbled on the way to step on the bag and, by the time he recovered, everyone was safe, with an unearned run crossing the plate.
• B7 – Griffith and Foggo had consecutive hits to open the inning and moved into scoring position when Arenas dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Arenas reached when Van Der Weid threw the ball away on the play. Guida then hit the first pitch he saw from Scott up the middle, scoring Griffith to tie the game at 1-1.
• B8 – Griffith plated Ball from third with a ground ball to short in front of Foggo's seventh home run of the year for a 4-1 Stetson lead. After Arenas and Kehl reached base, MacNeil doubled them home to make it 6-1.

Hatters Notes

• The game started and hour and 15 minutes late due to rain and lightning during the two hours leading up to game time. Neither team was able to take full batting practice or pregame infield.
• For Trimper, the win over Florida gives him career wins over 112 different programs.
• Garner Spoljaric made his first start for the Hatters, working four innings while allowing just one unearned run on one hit with four walks and six strikeouts. Spoljaric last started a game in 2019 when he was a member of the team at Heartland Community College in Illinois.
• Jake Murphy, who is one of five captains for the Hatters, was in the starting lineup for just the second time this year.
• Foggo's home run was the 22^nd of his Stetson career, which moves him into 18^th place alone on the Stetson career list, breaking a tie with Brooks Stephens and Mark Jones.
• Sardinas' hit in the eighth inning was the 250^th hit of his career.
• MacNeil extended his hitting streak to 11 games with his double in the eighth. It was the 30^th double of his career and his 160^th career hit.
• Both Ball and Arenas were hit by pitches for the 21^st time in their careers. They are tied for 15^th on the career list.

 
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.