TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The incredible 2024 season for the Stetson Hatters ends at the NCAA Regional in Tallahassee. While the Hatters took a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning, they could not hang on, falling 5-2 to the UCF Knights on Sunday afternoon. In a bittersweet moment, the Hatters will head home as their season concludes with a 41-22 record, the most wins in a season since 2018.
John Modugno got the final start of the season, going 1.2 innings while only allowing one run on two hits before he yielded the mound to Senior Nick Durgin. Durgin was sensational on the rubber, tossing five innings, giving up one run on five hits, with no walks and five strikeouts.. However, senior Cole Stallings, now 3-1 to finish the season, came out of the bullpen for Stetson, looking for another multi-inning save, and took the loss.
In the batter's box, the Hatters were paced by freshman Kyle Jones, who went 2-for-4 on the day with a double, a home run and an RBI. It was his second home run in as many games after leading off yesterday's win over Alabama with a solo shot. Junior Yohann Dessureault went 1-for-4 with a double, providing the only other extra base hit while Gio Cueto plated a run with sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first.
The Hatters got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the top of the first inning. On the first pitch Jones laced a ball to left field before legging out a leadoff double. He would then come across to score the lone run of the inning for Stetson and get them on the board.
The Knights then tied the ballgame at one before the Hatters came back to reclaim their advantage in the third inning. Stetson picked up a run on Jones' leadoff home run to left field off of junior Wiley Hartley, which brought the score to 2-1 in favor of the Hatters.
The Hatters were unable to hold the lead, as UCF scored four times over the remaining six innings to jump ahead. Despite a near hour and a half rain delay, Stetson came just shy of a comeback attempt. Landon Moran and Lorenzo Meola singled and drew a walk, respectively, to start the top of the ninth with two base runners, however, the Hatters were not able to capitalize.
While it may not have been the Hollywood ending that was hoped for, Stetson had plenty to celebrate this season. From huge ranked wins over #4 Florida, #10 Florida State and #16 UCF to claiming the ASUN Title to knocking off Alabama at the NCAA Regional, it has been a storybook season for the Hatters.
From conference awards multiple conference honorees to Head Coach Steve Trimper's 700th career win, it's been a wild ride for the program but with a young team and winning culture, this is just the beginning.
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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