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5/21/2008 - BASEBALL
A Bloop & A Blast Leads Stetson Past Mercer
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Photo by ASunPhotos.com
DeLAND, Fla. – First-Team All-Atlantic Sun short stop Casey Frawley drove in the go-ahead run and Second-Team first baseman Jeremy Cruz drove in two insurance runs in the eighth inning as Stetson defeated Mercer 8-5 in the final Wednesday game of the 2008 Atlantic Sun Baseball Championship Presented by Progress Energy from Stetson’s Melching Field at Conrad Park.
The Hatters’ Jeff Simpson stood at second base with two out and the score tied at five before Sean Emory walked setting the stage for Frawley. Frawley, who after tonight’s performance owns a .450 batting average against the Bears in 2008, lifted a shallow drive to left center that landed among the left fielder, center fielder and short stop allowing Simpson to score. One pitch later, Cruz hit an opposite-field drive to right center with Emory and Cruz scoring on the play.
Robbie Elsemiller, who surrendered a pair of unearned runs one inning earlier, completed a four-inning appearance by striking out three of the final five batters he faced, including Mike Armstrong swinging to close out the win. Elsemiller evened his record at 4-4 while Boone Webster fell to 3-6.
“At times, Robbie has struggled this year, especially against this team in Macon,” Stetson head coach Pete Dunn said. “I’m so proud of what he did. We made a few miscues defensively that cost us three runs, but we rebounded and our batters swung that bat and put us in a position to win. He had good stuff. I’m certainly inclined to go with him a lot longer when he’s making good pitches.”
The Bears (24-32) dented the plate first by scoring twice in the last of the second inning when Michael Langley tripled home Joe Winker and John Dortch. Stetson (26-31) countered with a pair of runs in the top of the third as Simpson scored on a throwing error and Josh Clendenin scored on a fielder’s choice.
The loss snapped Mercer’s modest three-game winning streak in first games of the A-Sun Championship and dropped the Bears to 9-3 all-time in first games. The Hatters became the first fifth seed to defeat the second seed on day one since FAU defeated Stetson in 2001 ending a six-game win streak by the second seed.
The Hatters will again play in the nightcap opposing Gardner-Webb at 7:00om on Thursday. The Bears face a quick turn around and will face Campbell in the day’s first contest, set for 11:00am. All games can be seen on ASun.TV.
Notes: Combined with Gardner-Webb’s victory, the fourth and fifth seed earned wins on the first day for the first time since 1996…Stetson reliever Robbie Elsemiller’s four-inning stint represented the third time, and second time against the Bears, that Elsemiller went at least four innings in a relief outing.…With five combined stolen bases, the six teams competing at the A-Sun Championship successfully stole 13 bases in 14 tries on the day…The Hatters improve to 4-1 against Mercer in A-Sun Championship play – the most frequently played series between two current A-Sun schools…The three winning teams (Lipscomb, Gardner-Webb and Stetson) combined to score 31 runs, the most ever by the day one winners in the 13-year history of the current championship format (six-team, double elimination).
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.
