Last April, when Nick Chiseri walked off the mound at Florida Gulf Coast, he wasn't sure if he would ever pitch again. Injuries had devastated his collegiate career and he was ready to move on from the game he loves.
Sunday afternoon at Melching Field, Chiseri climbed back on the mound for the Hatters in the sixth inning of the finale of the Stetson Classic with his team involved in a 2-2 game, but with the visiting Manhattan Jaspers having loaded the bases with no one out.
After falling behind the first hitter he faced, Manhattan's Frankie Marinelli, the Albany, NY, native battled back to a full count before Marinelli ripped a hot smash at Hatters' first baseman Trae Harmon. Harmon deflected the ball right to Camden Traficante, who flipped back to Harmon for the first out of the inning, while Michael Campbell trotted home to give the Jaspers a 3-2 lead.
Stetson chose to walk the next hitter intentionally to re-load the bases before Chiseri got an infield pop-up for the second out. He then closed out the frame by striking out Harrison Treble looking to avoid further damage.
An inning later, the Hatters rewarded Chiseri's effort, scoring four runs in the seventh to take a 6-4 victory.
After the 2021 season ended, Cheseri became an assistant in the weight room and helped the facilities and operations staff in addition to his duties with the strength staff in the fall. While he was content to move on, he continued to work out while working to complete his Master's degree. He eventually started to throw again and, in January, he reached out to Hatters pitching coach Dave Therneau to ask if he could throw a bullpen.
He was sharp in that performance, but was still a long-shot to even earn a spot on the roster, which was already over capacity. He continued to throw, and continued to do well and, just last week, was rewarded for his efforts with a spot on the team. His old jersey number, 30, had been assigned to another player, so he took over jersey number 17, last worn by Austin Wood, who had also dealt with his share of injuries.
Chiseri (1-0) earned the victory for Stetson (2-1) after working around a one-out error in the top of the seventh frame to keep the Hatters within one run. The southpaw went two shutout innings without giving up a hit, allowing one walk and striking out two. It was just his second win in his four years in the program, his first since February 24 of 2019.
Sophomore Cole Stallings made his first collegiate start on the mound and also made an impact for the Hatters. He worked 4.1 innings, giving up two runs, zero earned, on five hits, with one walk and five strikeouts.
At the plate, the Hatters were led by senior Cameron Hill, who led off the game for Stetson with a triple on the first pitch and came in to score the go-ahead run in the seventh after being hit by a pitch. Hill also had an infield hit taken away in the eighth inning despite clear video evidence that he beat the throw to first.
Sophomore Anthony DeFabbia also had a standout performance, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. His single led off the four-run seventh for the Hatters and he scored the tying run ahead of Hill. Freshman Yohann Dessureault also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and graduate Kyle Ball singled to drive in the final Stetson run.
Justin Solimine took the loss in relief for the Jaspers (1-2), allowing all four runs in the seventh inning in relief of starter Jordan Warecke.
Freshman Dominic Stagliano, the sixth Stetson pitcher of the day, came on to record the final out for his first collegiate save.
The Hatters will be back in action at Melching Field on Tuesday night when they host Florida (1-2) at 6:30 p.m. Stetson will continue its season-opening home-stand next weekend with a three-game series against Columbia.
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS.
Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision.
