DELAND, Fla. -- The Stetson Hatters rode their seniors to a 5-1 victory over visiting Liberty on Senior Day at Melching Field Saturday evening.

Fifth-year senior Chris Gonzalez (1-3) turned in his best outing of the year, holding the Flames (27-14, 13-7) to just one hit over six innings of work. Senior night honorees Bret Neilan and Danny Garcia combined to cover the final three innings to hold the Flames to just two hits, their fewest in a game since 2018.

Stetson (20-22, 6-14) gave Gonzalez an early 3-0 lead by jumping on Liberty starter Dylan Cumming (4-2) for three runs in the first inning before adding single runs in the fourth and fifth.

Fifth-year senior Cameron Hill led off the game with a single, starting a stretch of four consecutive Hatters to reach base. After Cumming hit a batter and allowed a walk to load the bases, redshirt freshman Jakob Bullard singled home a pair of runs. Fifth-year senior Nick DiPonzio made it 3-0 by stealing home as part of a double steal.

Redshirt sophomore Christian Pregent doubled home fellow redshirt sophomore Brandon Hylton in the fourth inning and then Hill led the way in the fifth, doubling to open the inning before advancing on a sacrifice bunt and scoring on DiPonzio's sacrifice fly.

Gonzalez allowed just one Liberty baserunner through the first five innings, but ran into trouble in the sixth with a hit batter, a walk and a bloop single to load the bases. He got out of the jam, allowing just one run, with consecutive ground balls, the first for a double play.

In addition to his two hits and two runs in the game, Hill made a SportsCenter Top 10 worth play to end the Liberty fifth, streaking into the left-centerfield gap before taking flight like Superman to take sure extra bases away from Liberty's Cameron Foster.

The Hatters and Flames will return to Melching Field for the final game of the weekend series on Sunday with an early noon start.

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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