DeLAND, Fla.  — Behind a near-masterful outing from junior right-hander James Hays and a five-run third inning, Stetson opened ASUN Conference play with a 7–2 victory over North Florida on Friday night at Melching Field at Conrad Park.

Hays carried a perfect game into the seventh inning and finished with a career-high nine strikeouts over 7.1 innings of work, allowing just three hits and one walk while improving to 2–0 on the season. The junior retired the first 18 batters he faced before the Ospreys finally broke through in the seventh.

Stetson (9–10, 1–0 ASUN) wasted little time getting on the board. Juan De la Cruz led off the bottom of the first with a double down the right-field line and later scored on a groundout by Foster Apple to give the Hatters an early 1–0 advantage.

The Hatters broke the game open in the third inning. De la Cruz reached third after a wild pitch following a fielding error and scored on Renzo Gonzalez's RBI double. Yohann Dessureault followed with another RBI double to plate Gonzalez before freshman catcher Samuel Fernandez delivered the big blow of the inning, launching a three-run home run to left field to cap the five-run frame and extend the Stetson lead to 6–0.

Meanwhile, Hays continued to cruise on the mound, keeping the Ospreys off balance while racking up strikeouts and weak contact through the first six innings.

North Florida (8–11, 0–1 ASUN) finally broke through in the eighth inning on a two-run home run from Seth Alford to cut the deficit to 6–2. Stetson quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning when De la Cruz singled and later scored on Gonzalez's second RBI double of the game to push the lead back to five.

Joel Core entered in relief and closed out the final 1.2 innings without allowing a hit or walk to secure the victory and give Stetson its fourth straight win.

The Hatters finished with 13 hits on the night, highlighted by Gonzalez's three-hit performance and Fernandez's three-run homer that helped fuel the decisive third inning.

KEY PERFORMERS

• James Hays — 7.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, career-high 9 strikeouts
• Renzo Gonzalez — 3-for-4, two doubles, 2 RBIs
• Samuel Fernandez — HR, 3 RBIs
• Juan De la Cruz — 2-for-5, double, 3 runs scored
• Yohann Dessureault — 2-for-3, double, RBI, walk
• Joel Core — 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R in relief

GAME NOTES

• Stetson has now win four straight games
• James Hays carried a perfect game through six innings.
• Hays recorded a career-high nine strikeouts in his longest outing of the season.
• Renzo Gonzalez recorded three hits, including two doubles.
• Samuel Fernandez hit his third home run of the season 387 feet.
• The Hatters out-hit North Florida 13–3.
• Stetson scored five runs in the third inning, its biggest frame of the night.
• The Hatters led 1–0 after the first inning and never surrendered the lead.

NEXT UP
Stetson continues its ASUN-opening series against North Florida on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Melching Field. Saturday's contest will serve as Military Appreciation Night and the game will stream on ESPN+.