DELAND, Fla. – Fans in attendance for the final regular season game at the MAC were in for a treat on Sunday afternoon, as the Stetson Hatters closed out their home slate on a walk-off hit-by-pitch to secure a 6-5 win over the Jacksonville Dolphins. The win gave the Hatters their fifth ASUN series victory of the season.
After starter
Daniel Paret worked around a hit batter in the top of the first, Stetson (30-21, 18-6 ASUN) grabbed him an early lead. Shortstop
Lorenzo Meola got things started, legging out a double to left-center field before left fielder
David Bermudez was hit by a pitch and centerfielder
Cameron Hill placed a bunt perfectly between the third baseman and pitcher to load the bases. First baseman
Landon Moran then picked up the RBI, lofting a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Meola and give the Hatters a 1-0 advantage.
Jacksonville (30-21, 14-13 ASUN) got the run back on an RBI groundout in the top of the second, but the Hatters fired back in their half of the frame. Right fielder
Jayden Hylton did the majority of the work in the inning, leading off with a single to right field, stealing second base, and moving to third on a flyout from catcher
Daniel Labrador before coming in to score on an RBI groundout from third baseman
Drew Wyers to put Stetson back on top 2-1.
After a scoreless third and fourth, JU would take advantage of three Stetson errors to plate four runs for a 5-2 lead in the fifth. Stetson looked poised to respond in the bottom of the frame, loading the bases with one out before coming up empty-handed.
The Hatters would cut into the lead two innings later, when Hill and Moran worked back-to-back walks with two outs. Designated hitter
Brandon Hylton ripped a single back up the middle to drive in Hill, and
Jayden Hylton followed with an RBI single of his own to score Moran and trim the deficit to 5-4.
The Hatters would strand the tying run at second in the eighth but were up to the task in the bottom of the ninth inning, striking twice to take the 6-5 win. Moran got the rally started with a one-out double and
Brandon Hylton followed with a walk, before
Jayden Hylton delivered the game-tying hit in the form of a double just inside the third-base bag to score Moran and put the winning run just 90 feet away. Pinch hitter
Trae Harmon was intentionally walked to put the force play into effect, but it didn't matter, as Wyers was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game, scoring Hylton and giving the Hatters the 6-5 win.
On the day, Wyers was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI and two HBP, and
Jayden Hylton went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.
Anthony DeFabbia (4-4) earned the win in relief, holding the Dolphins to just three hits over the final 4.2 innings. He struck out three and did not surrender a run.
The Hatters wrap up the regular season with four games on the road this week. They make the short strip to Tampa on Tuesday night, taking on the USF Bulls at 6:00 PM on Tuesday evening, before heading to Charlotte, North Carolina to close out the regular season with a three-game set at Queens. First pitches are set for 6:00 PM on Friday and Saturday and 1:00 PM on Sunday.
Stetson then returns home to host the 2023 ASUN Conference Tournament, which opens play on Tuesday, May 23
rd. More information on the tournament schedule or tickets can be found at:
https://asunsports.org/sports/bsb/championship/2022-23/index
