Friday, March 26, 2010

DeLand, Fla. -  Junior Jeff Simpson (Valrico, Fla.) delivered a two-RBI triple in the bottom of the 6th inning to propel Stetson (10-13) to a 5-4 win over Northwestern (5-15) Thursday night in the first of a four-game series at Melching Field. Simpson was 2-for-4 on the night with the triple, a double, two RBI, a sacrifice bunt, and a run scored.

His first hit of the night, the triple, extended his current hitting streak to 17 games. He also stole a pair of bases and is now 10-for-12 in that category.
"He [Simpson] is such a tough out, we call him the gnat", said Stetson head coach Pete Dunn. "He puts the ball in play. When they come in to take away the bunt, he slaps it by them. He takes a lot of pitches and is not afraid to get hit. He is a catalyst for us."

Joining Simpson with multiple hits in the game were Senior Aaron Crittenden (Fort Myers, Fla.) and sophomore Nick Rickles (Loxahatchee, Fla.). Crittenden was 3-for-5 with a run scored and Rickles finished 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Freshman Kurt Schluter (Jupiter, Fla.) delivered a pair of RBI on his seventh double of the season in the bottom of the 1st inning.

With one out in the 1st Mark Jones (Palm Coast, Fla.) drew his first of four walks on the night. Crittenden, the next batter, singled up the middle moving Jones to third. Schluter then followed with his double scoring Jones easily and a hustling Crittenden all the way from first base.

The Wildcats evened the score with two runs off of Stetson starter Lindsey Caughel (Orlando, Fla.) in the top of the 3rd. On the night Caughel lasted 6 1/3 innings, allowed four earned runs and surrendered 11 hits. On the positive side he struck out six batters, walked none, and picked up the win to raise his record to 2-2 on the season.