DELAND, Fla. - With two outs and the bases loaded in a scoreless game, Lizzie Shubert quickly changed that with one swing of the bat, hitting the second grand slam of her career to give the Stetson University softball team a four-run lead in the fourth and the Hatters would hold on for a 5-3 victory to take Game 3 of their ASUN series with North Florida on Sunday afternoon at Patricia Wilson Field.

Shubert, who hit the Hatters' first grand slam of the season, becomes the seventh player in Stetson history (since 1997) to record multiple grand slams in a career and is the first since Maggie Fritts (2017-18) hit a pair during the 2017 season. Shubert hit her first on February 9, 2020 against George Mason and her grand slam on Sunday was just the 29th in school history.

Entering the fourth, Stetson had yet to get a runner on base, but Danielle Diaz hit a one-out a single to the shortstop and was followed by back-to-back hit-by-pitchers for Marissa Baxter and Evette Morgan to load them. Haley Fox then lined out to third, setting up Shubert's effort. Her home run was the 28th of her career, tying her for fifth all-time at the school with Courtney Brandt (2012-15) while she moved ninth place overall in RBI (113), one shy of Brandt, who sits in eighth.

North Florida (39-12, 16-5 ASUN) managed just three singles through four innings against Hatter starter Lauren Klein. In the fifth, however, a one-out walk was followed by a single and Klein was replaced by Lauren Hobbs. Back-to-back hit batters scored the Ospreys' first run, a single and another hit batter drove in two more and Klein was reentered into the circle. She ended the threat with a foul out and a fly out to center fielder Kami Eppley.

Eppley actually came up huge for the Hatters defensively in the game, registering seven putouts, included two incredible catches that took away extra bases from North Florida. One of those catches occurred in the sixth inning when the Ospreys had the tying run on second and two outs. Eppley ranged to her left on a ball slicing away from her and she reached out and "snow coned" it to preserve the one-run lead.

Stetson (20-28, 9-9 ASUN) added an unearned run in the home half of the sixth to pad its lead thanks entirely to Fox, who beat out an infield single to reach base. With two outs, she stole second and the throw got away and she was able to round the bases to give the Hatters a 5-3 lead.

Klein finished the game with a perfect seventh and, fittingly, Eppley making the final out in center. Klein struck out four and improved to 8-7 with the victory. With the win, the Hatters end North Florida's 11-game winning streak overall and its 11-game ASUN winning streak.

The Hatters return to action with a midweek game at Florida on Wednesday before hosting their final ASUN series of the year next weekend, welcoming Kennesaw State to Patricia Wilson Field.
 

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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 (PDF).

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