DeLAND, Fla. – For the second straight game, Isaiah Barkett played the hero, delivering a walk-off hit to lift the Stetson Hatters to a 3-2 victory over Queens in Sunday's series finale at Melching Field. The junior third baseman's one-out RBI double sealed the sweep and secured Stetson's third walk-off win of the season, improving the Hatters to 10-2 in ASUN play and 20-13 overall.
Sophomore Zane Coppersmith (4-2) earned the win in relief with two scoreless innings, allowing no hits. Junior Ethan Phillips turned in a strong start on the mound, tossing seven innings while allowing just two unearned runs on four hits, with one walk and four strikeouts.
Stetson trailed 2-0 entering the bottom of the seventh but came alive late. Jayden Hylton drew a leadoff walk, and pinch hitter Nelphie Lopez moved him to third with a single. That set the stage for RBI singles from Lorenzo Meola and Juan De La Cruz, tying the game at 2-2.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth, when Stetson walked it off. De La Cruz legged out an infield single and promptly stole second to move into scoring position. Barkett, already the Saturday night hero, stepped in and laced a double down the left field line, bringing De La Cruz racing home with the winning run and sparking a second straight team celebration in the infield.
Head Coach Steve Trimper had high praise for Queens and his own squad following the weekend sweep.
"First off, hats off to Queens," Trimper said. "I said to their coach, I watched the non-conference schedule he put together and it was like a gauntlet. He played the No. 26 ranked schedule in the country and played all the big boys. He got his team battle ready for conference play, and they fought all weekend long. Their pitchers came at us and kept us off balance."
"I think what was great for us all weekend was our pitching and our defense," he added. "Giving up three runs all weekend is a pretty good weekend, and that only happens because you're pitching the ball well with great defense. And of course, we had to grind out some runs in the last two wins, late in the game—especially having to come back and tie this one up, then getting a guy on and getting him over on a stolen base. And then certainly Barkett, two times in a row for the walk-off win—he's obviously hot as a pistol right now, and to get those two walk-offs, that was really nice."
Stetson now turns its attention to a midweek road matchup, heading to Tampa to take on South Florida on Tuesday, April 8 at 6:00 p.m.
