Stetson beats Oklahoma State, 11-1, move on to NCAA Super Regional next weekend.
DELAND — Talk about your victory laps.
The Stetson Hatters, so dominant in their home ballpark all year, pulled the curtains on Melching Field’s first NCAA regional with a masterpiece that basically ended in a 45-minute flurry before it got dark.
The rest of the night was equal parts formality and coronation, ending with Stetson’s 11-1 rout of Oklahoma State and the Hatters’ first regional championship.
“A pretty unreal feeling to be the first team here to do this, given the talent that has come through this program,” said Brooks Wilson, who epitomized the Hatters’ transition into an offensive juggernaut this past weekend.
Stetson, 48-11 overall this year, won 32 of 35 in the home ballpark.
“We’re comfortable here,” understated Wilson.
Wilson, a senior from Lakeland, is best known for his strong right arm. His 20 saves out of the bullpen led the nation in 2018. But he also swung the bat this season, and over the weekend he collected seven hits in 12 at-bats, drove in seven runs, and left with regional MVP honors.
The only thing Stetson couldn’t control was something that happened nearly 600 miles away, where, following a nearly hour-long, eighth-inning weather delay, the North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Houston Cougars to win their Chapel Hill Regional. With the victory, Carolina secured home-field advantage next weekend against the Hatters in their best-of-three Super Regional.
The playing of James Taylor’s “Carolina in my Mind” during postgame celebrations served as a sort of send-off.
Stetson had never advanced beyond a regional, and a Super Regional victory next weekend would send the Hatters to their first appearance in the eight-team College World Series, beginning June 16 in Omaha, Nebraska.
The three-game weekend sweep showcased Stetson’s staff of arms that carried the team through much of the season. Stetson pitchers struck out 40 batters in the three nights as the Hatters outscored their opponents, 29-7.
It all came together for the Hatters, and apart for the Cowboys, in the bottom of the third inning. And given the nature of regional-tournament baseball, it wasn’t entirely unexpected, except for the sheer numbers piled up.
Oklahoma State was playing its fourth game in three days and its second game Sunday, and very few college teams have enough quality, experienced pitching to survive that workload.
The Cowboys started sophomore left-hander Brady Basso, who made just four starts all season and, through 17 overall appearances, didn’t exactly mow ’em down, assuming his 7.20 ERA serves as testament.
Basso was solid through two innings before the wheels fell off for him and his fellow Cowboys.
The Hatters sent 11 men to the plate and scored eight runs before an out was recorded. The final tally was a 10-run inning. After that, it was just a matter of watching Stetson right-hander Jack Perkins, the 6-foot-3 junior from Ocala, blow through the Cowboys while also watching the North Carolina score.
Perkins’ 11th victory of the season (against just two losses) was perhaps his best: He allowed only three hits, struck out 13 and allowed his lone run in the ninth after an error.
“He was electric tonight,” second-year Hatters coach Steve Trimper said of Perkins.
And that electricity has sparked a breakthrough season for Stetson. Remember, Trimper took the Stetson job in December 2016, when veteran coach Pete Dunn abruptly retired because of health reasons. Trimper didn't arrive in DeLand until only a few weeks before his first season began.
The Hatters were 27-29 in 2017. This season has been the opposite in every imaginable way.
“It can’t happen without great people and great players,” Trimper said after a break from the postgame hugging and photos.