DELAND, Fla. – Brandon Paritz delivered a game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally No. 3 Stetson past No. 4 Florida Atlantic 3-2 at the A-Sun Championship presented by Progress Energy.
Brad Pippa began the ninth inning rally with a one-out single just past the sprawling William Block at second base. Leadoff hitter Shane Jordan dropped down a sacrifice bunt that FAU hurler Mickey Storey threw wide of the bag at first, sending Pippa to third and leaving Jordan at first. Paritz came through for the Hatters by lifting his sacrifice fly to center field to seal the victory
Florida Atlantic (29-27) took the early lead, crossing the plate twice in the fourth inning. The Owls took advantage of a Stetson error and an Alex Silversmith RBI single to carry their lead late into the game. Storey kept the Stetson (35-22) attack in check until surrendering the tying runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. First team All-Atlantic Sun choice Chris Johnson and pinch hitter Kevin Mierzwinski put together back-to-back RBI singles in that frame to help Stetson knot the game at 2-2.
Stetson relief ace Robbie Elsemiller (6-3) tossed a perfect ninth inning to pick up the back door victory while Storey (7-9) went the distance for FAU in the loss. Daniel Cook finished 2-for-2 to pace the Owls who managed to scratch out just six hits against Stetson starter Corey Kluber and Elsemiller. Paritz, Johnson and Jordan each rapped out a pair of hits for the Hatters.
Stetson advances to face Mercer in the 7:00 pm winner’s bracket game at Melching Field while FAU faces top-seeded Jacksonville in the 3:00 pm tilt.
Day two gets underway tomorrow with Campbell facing ETSU in the tournament’s first elimination game. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 am.
