DeLand, Fla. - The Stetson Hatters returned to action for a doubleheader at the MAC on Saturday, facing off with the Indiana Hoosiers and Mount St. Mary Mountaineers. The Stetson pitching staff combined to allow six runs on five hits in 16.0 innings of work on the day, at the Hatters took down the Hoosiers 8-4 and The Mount 6-1.
The day's first game saw
Jonathan Gonzalez (2-1) earn the win on the back of 7.0 innings of two run, three hit ball. He struck out five Hoosiers and allowed just one walk.
Ty Van Dyke worked the final 2.0 innings, allowing a pair of runs on two hits and three strikeouts.
The Hatters (6-5) manufactured the game's first run in the bottom of the second, when left fielder
Jordan Taylor got things going with a one-out single through the left side. After a wild pitch and flyout moved Taylor to third, designated hitter
Foster Apple delivered a single to center field to plate Taylor and put Stetson up 1-0.
Catcher
Salvador Alvarez and shortstop
Lorenzo Meola reached base to open the third, and first baseman
Landon Moran loaded the bases thanks to an error on a sacrifice bunt, before centerfielder
Landon Russell drove in a run on a fielder's choice. A wild pitch on ball four to right fielder
Evan Griffis scored Meola to put the Hatter's up 3-0.
Indiana (5-6) scored once in the top of the fourth, but Stetson responded in the bottom of the inning, putting up three runs to break the game open. Third baseman
Juan De La Cruz and Apple both worked four-pitch walks to open the inning, before a sacrifice bunt from second baseman
Nelphie Lopez moved them over. An RBI groundout from Alvarez scored De La Cruz and, after Meola drew a walk, a wild pitch scored Apple. Moran closed out the inning with an RBI single to right field to drive in Meola and put Stetson up 6-1.
The Hoosiers got a solo shot in the fifth, before Stetson added a pair in the sixth. After Apple opened the frame with a walk and Lopes singled through the right side, Alvarez moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt. Moran was the benefactor, popping a soft single over the third baseman and driving in both runners to push the Hatter lead to 8-2.
Stetson wasted zero time in the nightcap, getting a two-run home run from Moran on the third pitch of the first inning to grab an early 2-0 lead. That score held for four pitches, as Russell blasted a 1-2 offering off the light pole in left field for a home run of his own, pushing the Hatter lead to 3-0 after three batters.
The Mount (6-3) scratched out a run in the fourth, but the Hatters struck twice in the sixth. De La Cruz walked and stole second base, and Apple worked a walk of his own before a sacrifice bunt from Lopez moved the runners over. Meola cashed in on the opportunity, roping a double to the gap in left-center field to drive in both runners for a 5-1 Stetson lead.
An error on a double steal allowed Moran to score in the eighth and closed out the game's scoring, giving the Hatters a 6-1 lead.
Ethan Phillips got the start and threw 3.2 innings of one-run, three-hit ball, while
Max LeBlanc (1-0) picked up the win thanks to 2.1 innings of shutout relief work that saw him hold the Mountaineers hitless while striking out three.
Ethan Salak earned his first save of the season, limiting The Mount to a single hit while striking out two.
Moran was on fire at the plate on the day, going 5-for-6 with a pair of runs scored and five RBI, while Russell was 3-for-10 with a pair of RBI and a run scored.
The Hatters close out the weekend tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 PM, battling Mount St. Mary's.
