DELAND, Fla. -- The Stetson Hatters fell 2-1 in a 15-inning marathon matchup to the Liberty Flames Friday night at Melching Field.

Sophomore Austin Amaral (2-2) took the loss on the mound for Stetson (19-22, 5-14). The right-hander went 3.2 innings in relief, giving up one run on one hit, allowing two walks and striking out five. Sophomore Nick Durgin started the game for the Hatters and went seven shutout innings while allowing two hits, walking two and striking out three.

Trey Carter (2-0) got the win in relief for the Flames (27-13, 13-6), throwing 3.2 innings while striking out four and allowing just one hit. Liberty starter Garrett Horn went seven no-hit innings for the Flames with a career-high 12 strikeouts. The four Liberty pitchers combined to strike out a program record 24 Stetson batters.

At the plate, the Hatters were paced by senior Connor Kehl, who went 2-for-3 with a double. Senior Kyle Ball also had a pair of hits and went 2-for-5 with a walk. It was Ball who broke up the Liberty no-hit bid with a one-out single in the eighth inning off reliever Mason Fluharty.

Stetson scored its only run of the night in the first inning. Cameron Hill was hit in the head by the first pitch Horn threw. He immediately broke for second, but Horn threw behind him. Instead of getting the first out on a caught stealing, Flames first baseman Logan Mathieu made an errant throw, allowing Hill to advance to third.

Camden Traficante followed with a ground ball to second to score Hill. It was the only run in the game until the eighth inning.

Freshman Dominic Stagliano came on in relief of Durgin to open the eighth and worked to a full count against Liberty designated hitter Brady Gulakowski before the left-handed hitting slugger blasted a solo homer down the right-field line to tie the game at 1-1.

That was where things stayed until the 15th inning. 

Stetson had a chance to win the game in regulation when Jakob Bullard drew a one-out walk and Kehl followed with a single in the ninth. Juan Correa was unable to advance the runners against Fluharty, striking out, and Yohann Dessureault's sinking liner to right held up long enough for Aaron Anderson to get to it to end the inning.

The Hatters also stranded runners in the 12th and 13th innings.

The Flames pushed across the winning run after Nathan Keeter led off the 15th with a double to right center. A sacrifice bunt moved him to third and Anderson's ground ball to short scored the run.

The Hatters will try to even the series on Saturday night in the second game of the weekend. Prior to the game the teams' 2022 seniors will be recognized.

This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.

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.

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