Stetson beats Kennesaw State for ASUN championship, advances to NCAA Tournament
DELAND — At 3:55 p.m. Sunday, Melching Field looked like a party scene.
Hats, gloves, Powerade bottles and cleats scattered around the infield. A pile of ice lay dumped by the mound. Players untangled themselves from a team-wide heap.
In their home ballpark, the Stetson Hatters celebrated their first ASUN championship since 2018. They took down Kennesaw State 5-3 in the finals to book a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Stetson was set to learn its regional destination Monday.
“I’m just happy for the guys,” coach Steve Trimper said. “The times I’ve had the opportunity to win a conference and go into the NCAA Tournament like this in my career, I love sitting in the dugout and watching the guys pigpile. That’s my favorite part of this whole thing. We celebrate every win, and this is one to celebrate. We’ll get to work tomorrow.”
Lorenzo Meola earned the tournament MVP award. After two home runs in Saturday’s semifinals against Florida Gulf Coast, the Hatters’ sophomore shortstop belted another in the second inning against Kennesaw State to plate the first two runs of the game. That set the tone.
“It’s awesome,” Meola said. “We all came together and did this thing for Stetson.”
He scored again in the eighth inning, as sixth-year designated hitter Brandon Hylton put the Hatters up 5-2 with a two-run home run. It was also Hylton’s second consecutive game with a dinger.
“I saw the first strike, and I smacked it,” Hylton said. “I was screaming, just screaming, just screaming (while rounding the bases).”
COLLEGE BASEBALL: Inside the ASUN Tournament format
The only Stetson run that did not result from a long ball came on a third-inning sacrifice fly by junior catcher Gio Cueto. That boosted its advantage to 3-0.
Senior lefty Anthony DeFabbia completed five innings, surrendering eight hits and dealing with baserunners in each frame. But the only run he was responsible for happened after he left with no outs in the sixth.
After Owls second baseman Zac Corbin singled to lead off the inning, redshirt senior Aric McAtee trotted in from the bullpen. He walked DH Jamarie Brooks. Kennesaw State bunted the runners to second and third before left fielder Chris Cole tightened the contest with a two-run single.
The Hatters went to their bullpen again, calling on redshirt senior Nick Durgin. He picked up the last two outs of the inning with no further damage.
Durgin pitched the final 3⅔ innings. He submitted Stetson’s lone 1-2-3 inning of the day in the eighth and allowed only one run.
KSU first baseman Donovan Cash tripled with one out in the ninth. He scored when the next batter, right fielder Jackson Chirello, flew out to deep center.
But with the bases empty and two outs, Durgin clinched the trophy by forcing Corbin to ground out to second. Junior Yohann Dessureault fielded the ball and fired it to sophomore first baseman Landon Moran.
“First thing I did was find my brother (sophomore right fielder Jayden Hylton) and ran out to him,” Brandon Hylton said. “Then, right to the dogpile. Day 1, (associate head coach Shane Gierke) told us, ‘You’re going to be doing the dogpile at the end of the season. You just have to believe it.’”
WHAT A YEAR!: Five superlatives from Volusia-Flagler high school sports in 2023-24
And so the banner year for the Hatters continues.
The baseball team is the school's fourth athletic program to reach an NCAA tournament this school year, joining men’s basketball, men’s golf and women’s tennis. The university also welcomed a new athletic director this month.
“I’m just trying to keep up with our other coaches,” Trimper said. “That’s what I told everybody. We have to keep winning because we have to keep up with our other good coaches here.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: College baseball: Stetson wins ASUN, earns spot in NCAA Tournament
