DeLAND, Fla. - The Stetson University baseball team took to Melching Field at Conrad Park for the first time since their upset win over #4 Florida on Tuesday. The Hatters played host to the Brown Bears on Friday, picking up a 7-2 win to start a four-game series. The Hatters tacked on four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to jump out ahead of the Bears as Gio Cueto, who extended his RBI streak to nine straight games, hit the go-ahead RBI triple to left field.

The Hatters' pitching staff set a new season-high with 12 strikeouts, eight of which came from starting pitcher Dylan Jacobs. Zane Coppersmith, who came in relief and earned the win, struck out four batters while none of the Hatters allowed a walk.

"I got to give a lot of credit to their starter, he did a heck of a job, we didn't really make the adjustments that we talked about early and we had a lot of weak contact and a lot of little things we need to do better," said Head Coach Steve Trimper. "With that being said, we had outstanding pitching tonight, we really pounded the zone, no walks tonight and at the end of the game we started to capitalize on their mistakes."

Jacobs made quick work of the Brown batters in the first, retiring them in order with the last two going down on strikes. After three scoreless innings, the Bears struck first on an RBI single to left but Jacobs added another two punchouts to his line.

The Hatters tied the game at one apiece in the bottom of the fifth when Kyle Jones led off with a single through the left side before swiping second. After Landon Moran advanced the runner to third with an infield single to short, Cueto plated Jones with a sacrifice fly to center field.

An error in the following inning would allow the Bears to retake the lead but Coppersmith took over the mound to begin the seventh and retired the side in order with a pair of strikeouts. The bottom of the seventh is when the Hatters' bats came alive, racking up four runs on four hits.

After Jones reached on a one-out infield single to third base, Jayden Hylton pushed him to third on a fielder's choice that saw Moran, who reached on a walk, get thrown out at second. That's when Cueto roped a ball to left field that bounced past the Browns' outfielder resulting in a two-run, two-out triple, the first of the season. Daniel Labrador, who made his first start of the campaign, and Evan Griffis added to the lead with a pair of RBI doubles to extend the Hatters' lead to 5-2.

"They've been swinging the bat well so it was great to take that part of the game and really put the gas peddle down," said Trimper. "I think the biggest theme we have is that we try to win the last third of the game, that's something we've talked about since the beginning of the season, make sure you win the last third of the game and if you do that you'll either put teams away or you're going to be a comeback group."

Following another two strikeout inning by Coppersmith, the Hatters added insurance to their lead with a two-run eighth. Juan De La Cruz reached on a fielding error at third before Lorenzo Meola and Jones reached on walks. With the bases loaded and no outs, Moran was hit by a pitch to plate one run before a groundball double play resulted in another.

While Jacobs was a no-decision, he went 6.0 innings, striking out eight, while allowing one earned run on six hits. 

The Hatters, now 6-3, will return to action tomorrow at Melching Field for a double-header with the Bears, starting at 2:00 PM.

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.

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 For a recap of the week's notable stories, sign up for the Stetson Athletics Newsletter