Hatters Down Hartford, 8-3, in NCAA Regional Opener

Cory Lancaster June 1, 2018
Team celebrates in a huddle on the field.
The Hatters celebrate their ASUN championship after beating the University of North Florida in Jacksonville on Saturday, May 26.

It has been an exciting week for the Stetson baseball program. All across central Florida, the Hatters are the talk of the town.

That continued Friday night at Melching Field as the Hatters beat Hartford, 8-3, in their  2018 NCAA DeLand Regional opener. The Hatters, who extended their winning streak to 16 straight games, now will face Oklahoma State on Saturday, June 2, at 7 p.m.

room full of cheering hatters
The Hatters Baseball team and hundreds of fans gather Monday to learn they will face Hartford today at 7 p.m. in the DeLand Regional Championship.

The teams are vying for a chance to advance to NCAA Super-Regional play next weekend. The next step from there is the promised land for college baseball – Omaha.

But, before anyone can have serious dreams of Omaha, there is a Regional to host with three very talented opponents.

Stetson came into its first NCAA Regional at Melching Field riding the nation’s longest active win streak. The Hatters are competing in their 19th NCAA Regional Tournament overall, but their first as a No. 1 seed. Stetson has an all-time record of 18-36 in NCAA Regional play.

The closest Stetson has ever come to advancing past the Regional round of the NCAA Tournament came in 1988 in the old six team format when the Hatters lost to Florida in Tallahassee after eliminating the host Seminoles. Stetson also reached the final day of play in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2003 and again in 2011. The Hatters were eliminated by Virginia in 1996, Georgia Tech in 2000, Miami in 2001, and South Carolina in 2003 and again in 2011.

Eric Foggo gives a fighting yell on the field.
Six-foot-5 freshman Eric Foggo reacts on the field during the ASUN championship last weekend.

Stetson has faced both Oklahoma State and South Florida in NCAA play in the past. In 1997 the Hatters were sent to Stillwater, losing to OSU and Harvard in consecutive games. Stetson faced South Florida in the 1982 Mi­ami Regional, topping the Bulls 6-5, and then again in the 2002 Tallahassee Regional, losing to the Bulls 14-13.

Stetson has a 1-4 all-time record against Oklahoma State, with four of those previous games having been played in DeLand. The only Stetson win in the series came during the 1985 season. The Hatters have lost four straight games to the Cowboys, with the last meeting coming back in 2004.

Play in the regional continues on Saturday with the losing teams from Friday’s game meeting in an elimination game at 1 p.m. Then, Stetson and Oklahoma State will square off at 7 p.m.

Chairback seating for the Regional is sold out for the weekend. There will be single-game general admission tickets available at the gate on a first-come, first-served basis.

-Ricky Hazel
GoHatters.com