All of the momentum the Stetson baseball team had built over six dominant innings against Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday night at Melching Field melted in one at bat. That momentum jumped to the third base dugout in the seventh inning when Eagles’ first baseman Nick Rivera and Hatters relief pitcher Josh Thorne locked in a 13-pitch at bat with the bases loaded and two out in a 5-2 game. Rivera won that battle when he ripped a bases-clearing triple to center to tie the game, but the Hatters didn’t let FGCU enjoy the momentum for long.

Stetson answered in the bottom of the inning, scoring twice to regain the lead, and then tacked on four more runs in the eighth inning to take an 11-8 series opening win over the Eagles.

Stetson evened its season record at 27-27 and improved to 11-7 in Atlantic Sun Conference play, tied with Lipscomb for second place in the race for the No. 2 seed in next week’s A-Sun tournament. FGCU fell to 27-23-1 overall and 10-8 in league play, dropping for fourth in the standings behind the Hatters and Bisons.

It was Cory Reid (pictured in photo by Jim Hogue) – who reached base five times in the game, scored three runs and fell a home run short of the cycle – who got the Hatters off to a good start in the seventh when he led off with a double down the left-field line off FGCU reliever Nick Deckert (3-1).

After Patrick Mazeika moved Reid to third with a ground ball, Will Mackenzie ripped a double down the right-field line to put Stetson back on top 6-5. A passed ball moved Mackenzie up to third before John Fussell delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 7-5.

“That was huge because all of the momentum had swung to their side and to come back and have Reid leadoff with a double and answer with two runs, that was huge,” Hatters coach Pete Dunn said. “To answer right after we lost momentum and they gained it, that was a big point in the game.”

After Tyler Warmoth came out of the Stetson bullpen in the eighth and kept the Eagles from scoring, the Hatters played add-on in the eighth off another FGCU reliever, Garrett Anderson. Tyler Bocock and Vance Vizcaino got things started with back-to-back one-out singles before Reid was hit by a pitch to load the bases, bringing Mazeika to the plate.

In a similar situation last Sunday in Nashville, Mazeika ripped a three-run double into the corner to lead the Hatters to a 9-6 victory over Lipscomb. On Thursday, Stetson already had the lead, but Mazeika again delivered a bases clearing double, pushing the Hatters’ lead to 10-5.

“He got behind 2-1 and left a fastball over the plate,” Mazeika said. “I was just trying to get under it, not hit into a double play, and hit a sac fly. I was able to split the gap and drove in three. I was happy to see Cory get hit by that pitch because I didn’t get it done in the first inning when I had a chance. It was good to get some RBIs and help the team out.”

Dunn said that when Reid got hit to load the bases, he knew the Hatters couldn’t have a better hitting coming to the plate.

“Not in that situation because they can’t pitch around him,” Dunn said. “When they hit Reid, it was like the pinball machine going off. Maz came up big and, as it turned out, we needed those extra runs.”

Senior Josh Powers, who had three hits on the night for the Hatters, followed Mazeika’s double with an RBI single to make it 11-5. The Eagles answered in the ninth, scoring three runs, two on a home run by Jake Noll, off reliever Frankie Romano.

“If it had remained a two-run game, Warmoth would have stayed in to get the save, but we had an opportunity to get him out,” Dunn said. “Frankie has been doing a good job for us all year and, even though he struggled tonight, he will have another opportunity. It saved Warmoth an inning and he’ll be able to go back out there tomorrow if we need him.”

The Hatters dominated the early innings of the game behind starting pitcher Mitchell Jordan, who ended up allowing three runs on seven hits over 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts. Two of the runs scored in the four-run FGCU seventh after he left the game when Tyler Keller came in and walked back-to-back left-handers before Thorne surrendered the three-run triple to Rivera.

“It was a shame that Mitchell Jordan didn’t get the win because he pitched so well, but that is the way it works sometimes,” Dunn said. “He was out of gas. We were going to go with him as long as we could, but he is also scheduled to throw next Wednesday. We would have stayed with him another inning and then made the change after the seventh, but he hit the wall.

“Tyler has done a good job for us all year and it is a shame that he faced two left-handers and walked them both. I thought Thorne battled with Rivera, but Rivera did a great job of fouling off pitches until he got one and tied the game.”

Thorne (4-1) settled down after allowing the triple and struck out Noll looking to end the inning, leaving Rivera stranded at third.

The only run the Eagles managed off Jordan through the first six innings was a solo home run by Tyler Selesky in the first.

“That was disappointing that we couldn’t hold the lead for Mitchell, because he certainly pitched well enough to get the W,” Dunn said. “The most important thing was that we battled back after that inning and then padded it. It was a big win that we can take into tomorrow and get the series.”

Stetson scored in each of the first four innings of the game, chasing FGCU starter Michael Murray after just three frames by scoring four runs on six hits against him.

Vizcaino and Reid led off the game with consecutive singles, but Stetson managed just one run in the inning after Murray got Mazeika swinging before Mackenzie delivered an RBI ground ball to second.

Fussell got things started for the Hatters in the second with a hit and then scored on a home run by Russini, his second in as many games and fourth of the year. Reid added a run in the third when he walked, stole second, moved up on a ground ball and then scored on a wild pitch.

It was Russini who led off the fourth inning with a double off Deckert and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Vizcaino.

The Hatters finished the night with 15 hits, led by Reid with three and Vizcaino and Russini with two each. Stetson also left seven runners on base in the game, four in scoring position. Selesky led the Eagles’ 11-hit attack with three while Matt Reardon had two.

“For us to win this series, we had to get it done tonight,” Dunn said. “Now we have to come back tomorrow and get it done again on Senior Day.”

Friday’s game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch. Senior Day festivities for the Hatters’ seven seniors – Bocock, Powers, Russini, Warmoth, Kyle Pitts, Darby McCormick and Ben Rakus – will take place beginning at about 6:10 p.m.

The series will conclude on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

GOHATTERS.COM.