DELAND, FL — The reigning ASUN Champions added another trophy to their case with a commanding 10–3 win over Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon, clinching the Graphite Division title. With the victory, Stetson secured its second consecutive ASUN regular season championship and marked its third straight 35-win campaign.
The win marked a milestone for head coach Steve Trimper, who notched his 275th victory at Stetson while guiding the Hatters to a program-best 22 conference wins, further cementing their dominance in the ASUN.
Before the game, Stetson honored its nine seniors during a Senior Day ceremony at Melching Field: Max LeBlanc, Cooper Smith, Justin Solimine, Dylan Jacobs, Zane Coppersmith, TJ Melani, Ty Van Dyke, Yohann Dessureault, and Jonathan Gonzalez. Gonzalez got the start on the mound and delivered a stellar performance, earning his eighth win of the season. The southpaw went seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits while walking one and striking out six. He also reached a career milestone, surpassing 250 strikeouts to move into ninth place all-time in program history.
Offensively, the Hatters were led by strong performances throughout the lineup. Landon Moran went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI. Salvador Alvarez chipped in with a 3-for-4 day, including two doubles and two RBIs. Juan De La Cruz added two hits, a walk, and three RBIs in a perfect day at the plate.
The Hatters were trailing 1-0 in the second inning when they first put runs on the board. Stetson plated two runs off of Jacksonville pitching, one of which was driven in on a run-scoring double off the bat of Alvarez.
The Dolphins failed to push any runs across before the Hatters offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Stetson brought home a pair, with one run driven in by freshman Foster Apple's single, which brought the score to 4-1 in favor of the Hatters.
Stetson kept Jacksonville without a run before expanding their lead to 6-1 the following inning. The Hatters picked up two runs off of Jacksonville pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double from Moran, who was then driven in by Jordan Taylor.
Stetson held the Dolphins scoreless before their offense got in gear the next inning. The three-run frame for the Hatters was capped off by a two-run single off the bat of De La Cruz. bringing the score to 9-1 in favor of Stetson.
The Hatters held Jacksonville without a run before building on their lead to 10-1 in the seventh inning. Evan Griffis added the final blow with a solo home run in the seventh, his third of the season, stretching the lead to 10–1. Jacksonville added two late runs, but it wasn't enough to threaten Stetson's comfortable lead.
The Hatters (35–17, 22–4 ASUN) will wrap up their home regular season on Sunday at 1:00 PM as they conclude the series with Jacksonville at Melching Field.
