CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Stetson’s magical 2018 season came to an abrupt end on Saturday, as the Hatters were swept by No. 6 North Carolina in the Super Regional round of the NCAA postseason.
The Hatters finished the year with 48 wins – tied for most in program history – and hosted a regional tournament for the first time.
While the ’18 Hatters will arguably go down as the best team in school history, there were plenty of chances to extend their season over the weekend.
Here are three takeaways from Stetson’s final series of the year:
Ducks on the pond
When you’re only one of 16 teams left playing, every run counts. During the two-game sweep in Chapel Hill, the Hatters found this out the hard way.
Stetson went 4-for-24 with runners in scoring position over the weekend, and just 1-for-11 on Friday. The Hatters left the tying runs on base in the ninth inning of both games, as Brooks Wilson hit a pair of rockets in both instances only to have both chased down by North Carolina defenders.
The Hatters also fell victim to some good Tar Heels defense, most notably on Saturday when UNC second baseman Zack Gahagan took a hit and a pair of RBIs away from Jorge Arenas with a strong play up the middle.
Oh, so close
Wilson will soon begin his professional career with the Atlanta Braves, but the senior will likely lose some sleep on what could have been.
The ASUN Player of the Year made the last out of both games over the weekend, but it could’ve easily been a different story. On Friday, Wilson lined out to the left-field wall with the bases loaded and the Hatters down just three. Then, on Saturday, the senior belted a fly ball deep to center with two on and two out, only to have UNC’s Brandon Riley make a leaping catch at the wall.
If either one of those balls fall, the Hatters could easily still be playing.
Aces struggle
Pitching has been the backbone of the Hatters all season, but the Tar Heels offense wasn’t having any of it this weekend.
Ace Logan Gilbert matched his shortest outing of the season and gave up four runs on Friday, and Jack Perkins was touched for six runs and recorded his shortest outing of the season on Saturday. Stetson held the lead for just a half inning over the two games, as Mike Spooner’s first inning home run on Friday was quickly erased in the bottom of the frame when the Tar Heels tied the game with a sac fly.
Gilbert did settle down somewhat in Game 1 and finished with six strikeouts, but the junior first round pick gave up a backbreaking three-run home run to UNC’s Cody Roberts that proved to be the difference in the end.
After giving up just two earned runs combined during the regional round, Gilbert and Perkins gave up nine over the weekend.