DELAND, Fla. – Melching Field underwent a renovation in the offseason, and the Hatters matched the grandiose moment with a pair of monumental wins to take the series over Manhattan, 18-0 and 9-1, with the final game to be played tomorrow.  Austin Amaral and Anthony DeFabbia each picked up a win with a combined 17 strike outs.
 
"Obviously last night we swung the bats really well, but I told the guys, it's baseball, you can come back be in a 1-1 game pretty quick," head coach Steve Trimper said "The guys did a good job of playing defense and pitching very well, and we capitalized late in games. I think what we didn't do well was we struck out and left a lot of guys on base.This time of the year we are doing all three things well, right now it's about getting a sweep on the weekend, winning series are great, but we really want to get the sweep. Tomorrow is a new day, momentum is great in baseball, but we know the other team wants to win as bad as we do. You can't take anything for granted teams that look into the future they forget about the present. We have a big day down in Miami, but tomorrow is the most important day of the season right now. That is what we told the team in the outfield right there, you got your series win but learn how to sweep teams, focus on that moment Sunday."
 
After a leadoff walk, Amaral locked in, striking out the next seven batters faced, as he threw five scoreless innings. Jason Gonzalez, Jonathan Gonzalez and Daniel Paret all combined in the one-hit combined shutout that featured 17 strikeouts.
 
The bats were loud for the Hatters from the outset as Evan Griffis set the tempo for the season from the leadoff spot, smashing a double to left. David Bermudez sent a screamer down the right-field line following up Griffis, plating a run. Jayden Hylton christened the renovated Melching Field with the first homerun of the new M.A.C. for a four-run first.
 
Stetson piled on from there as Christian Pregent and Andrew Estrella hit solo homers on back-to-back scoring plays in the fourth with Griffis also touching home plate for the second time to make it, 7-0 Hats.
 
While Jayden Hylton sent the first bomb out of the M.A.C., Brandon Hylton capped off the night with a grand slam in the seventh inning. Drew Wyers recorded the final RBI of the night, plating Daniel Labrador for an 18-0 opening-night win.
 
"Our plan coming into this weekend was use the entire field," Jayden Hylton "We were worked on two-strike composure and thinking opposite side of field. Staying with that approach and trusting it with 9-1 today and 18-0 yesterday, it really worked out."
 
DeFabbia and Tyler Fagler kept the scoring limited for five innings as Stetson built a two-run advantage, 3-1, before the Hats' bats started to come through in clutch situations.
 
"We talked about it last night, they were going to come and play us hard today," DeFabbia said "So we just wanted to come out early and throw some strikes. It was nice that Andrew [Estrella] got us that home run to lead off the game. Right after that I was just trying to throw strikes and execute pitches to give the team a chance to win. I was just trying to mix up my pitch sequences, throw strikes to get ahead of hitters. If I get ahead of a hitter, I have got a good chance of getting him out. The big thing [now] is finishing the weekend, winning the series is nice, but it's a bonus to go out and sweep. The guys are ready and are going to come in hungry, so I hope we have a good game tomorrow."
 
Tripp McKinlay scored on a fielder's choice [4-1] with a good jump on the infield ball to avoid the opportunity of being caught at home. Jayden Hylton sent a shot that dropped inches inside the right-field foul line that Yohann Dessureault and Bermudez scored on, SU in command 6-1. Brandon Hylton smacked a hotshot to right center that allowed Jayden Hylton to score easily from second. Bullard notched his first RBI of the 2023 season, 28th career, to put a wrap on the scoring in Stetson's 9-1 win, but maybe the gem of the night was Jayden Hylton running down a flyball to shallow right exciting the crowd with diving catch to rob a base hit in the top of the ninth as Stetson closed the door on the Jaspers.
 
"It all starts to come back to practice. Practice how you play," Hylton said about his catch "Every day I am out there going full speed, diving plays here and there, not really a routine, but it shows if you really practice you can make those plays."
 
While some individual performances are merit worthy, the team's performance features 26 RBI off a team batting average of .377 with 18 extra-base hits off 29 registered base knocks.
 
The Hatters go for the sweep on Sunday with first pitch at Melching Field at Conrad Park scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
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). 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.