Hatters stay hot, win regional opener
45 minutes due to lightning. Hartford was batting in the top of the third before the interruption. The Hawks had two men on, but Stetson starter Joey Gonzalez, who threw first-pitch strikes to 10 of the first 11 hitters, got out of the jam.
The teams then went back and forth, trading the lead.
The Hatters took a 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the fourth after a one-out double by Eric Foggo. He later scored on a passed ball.
Hartford erased the small deficit, taking a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth and could have had more if not for Melching Field’s trademark imposing layout that makes it difficult for batters to go deep.
Ashton Bardzell led off with a single and looked to be trotting home when DH Chris Sullivan blasted a shot to deep right field. But Stetson’s Mike Spooner caught it with his back up against the wall.
Back-to-back singles from Jackson Olson and Drew Holtgrieve scored the first run and the second tally came on an error by Stetson third baseman Jonathan Meola, who made it worse by obstructing Olson to allow the run.
“It was a little uncharacteristic of us to have three
GAINESVILLE REGIONAL errors tonight,” Trimper said. “I think we were a little bit out of our element with the atmosphere.”
Stetson reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the sixth after walks to Jacob Koos and Wilson. They both scored on hits by Foggo and Jorge Arenas.
Hartford tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the seventh before the Hatters scored two more runs, including an RBI double by Wilson.
“I felt pretty comfortable at the plate tonight,” said Wilson, who added a tworun single in the eighth.
“That was a big two-out hit by Brooks,” Trimper said. “You never know how these regionals can go with weather.”
Gonzalez went six innings, giving up seven hits and one earned run while striking out five. Stetson’s third starter in the regular season, Mitchell Senger, pitched the final three innings, giving up just two hits and striking out three.
“One of our strong suits this season [has been] … our pitching,” Trimper said.
There was also a pair of highlight defensive plays by Koos in center field, the second of which kept Hartford at bay. With two outs in the eighth, the Hawks’ John Thrasher lined a ball in the right-field gap with a runner on base. Koos laid out to make the diving catch to save a run with Stetson leading 5-3. Koos also had two stolen bases in the sixth inning to help score a run.
David Villar had two hits and drove in three runs, including the go-ahead tally in the 11th inning, and USF defeated Hartford 9-4 on Saturday, eliminating the Hawks from the DeLand Regional.
Villar’s two-run single with the bases loaded in the 11th gave the Bulls the lead for good. Joe Genord then supplied some insurance runs with a three-run homer down the left-field line.
USF (36-21-1) is scheduled to face the StetsonOklahoma State loser in another elimination game today.
Andrew Perez (6-3) pitched four innings in relief to get the win. He allowed one unearned run on four hits with two strikeouts.
Nick Campana had three hits and TJ Ward drove in two runs for the Hawks, who end the season 26-31. Billy DeVito (1-5), who was the fourth Hartford pitcher, got the loss.