TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- After a more than three-hour weather delay and 12 hard fought innings of baseball, the Stetson Hatters fell 5-4 to No. 20 Florida State Wednesday night at Dick Howser Stadium.
Stetson (16-12) led the game from the first inning when redshirt sophomore Brandon Hylton blasted a 427-foot homer to right off FSU starter Carson Montgomery. That lead grew to 3-0 in the seventh inning when Camden Traficante delivered a two-out RBI double and Cam Hill followed with an infield single to score a second run.
Graduate left-hander Chris Gonzalez came on to pitch for the Hatters in the second inning when starter Tanner Martin left the game with an injury after hitting three consecutive FSU batters. With the bases loaded and no one out, Gonzalez got a strikeout and a double play grounder to escape the frame without allowing a run. He followed up by retiring the next 11 hitters in a row before allowing a two-out bunt single in the sixth.
FSU (17-11) finally got to Gonzalez in the seventh inning, plating a pair of runs on two hits to close the Stetson lead to 3-2.
The Hatters pushed across an insurance run in the ninth when Nick DiPonzio doubled home a run, but the Hatters were unable to get DiPonzio home, and that cost them.
Sophomore Austin Amaral came in to pitch the ninth inning. He retired the first batter before getting a ground ball to short that was ruled a hit, but turned into two bases on a throwing error. After retiring the next hitter, FSU sent up pinch hitter Jackson Greene and, after Amaral fell behind 2-0, Green tied the gme with a home run down the left field line.
Stetson got runners on base in each of the extra innings, but was unable to get a hit to drive in the go-ahead run. Then FSU took advantage of another Stetson error in the 12th, getting a two-out single from Jordan Carrion to walk-off with the win.
Senior Rasesh Pandya (0-1) came out of the bullpen for Stetson and took the loss. Gonzalez threw 6.2 innings in relief, giving up two runs on four hits, with one walk and six strikeouts.
DiPonzio put together a standout day at the plate as well, going 4-for-5 with a double. Wyatt Crowell (2-0) the fifth FSU pitcher in the game, earned the win. The group combined to record 25 strikeouts in the game, the most ever in a game against Stetson. Montgomery led the way, posting 13 strikeouts in his 6.1 innings.
The Hatters will try to shake off the tough loss on Friday when they open a three-game ASUN series at home against Kennesaw State. Friday's series opener is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. 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 (PDF).
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