Saturday, May 27, 2006

DELAND, Fla. (May 27, 2006) - The Bucs' magic finally ran out Saturday afternoon, as the homestanding Stetson Hatters claimed their second consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference title 6-2 at Melching Field.

The Hatters (38-22) scored single runs in the second, third and fourth innings, plating their second inning run via a wild pitch, bringing home the second run on a sacrifice fly in third, and scoring courtesy of a two-out fielding error in the fourth for a 3-0 lead.

Stetson added two more in the fifth, with designated hitter Kevin Mierzwinski driving in the inning's first run on a single to right field, driving in left fielder Brian Pruitt.  Shortstop Brian Bocock scored on the next play on another Buccaneer error.

The Bucs (31-27) finally broke through in their half of the fifth, plating their first run on Justin Aughey's (Lake Davie, Fla.) RBI groundout, scoring junior Michael Courtney (Knoxville, Tenn.)

Stetson pushed the lead back to five runs with a run in the seventh when Bocock advanced home on a passed ball.

Consecutive doubles from Courtney and sophomore Anthony Russell (Waldorf, Md.) in the ETSU half of the seventh cut the lead to 6-2, but the Bucs could get no closer.

Stetson starter Will Romanowicz was masterful, baffling the Bucs throughout the contest as he scattered seven hits and struck out two in the complete game effort.  The righty limited the Bucs' powerful one through six hitters to a combined 2-for-23 effort.  Junior Tony Lombardi (Windsor, Calif.) fell to 2-8 on the season, surrendering three runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings of work.

The Bucs placed a school-record four individuals on the All-Tournament team, with Russell joining juniors Caleb Glafenhein (Knoxville, Tenn.) and C.J. Lee (Bristol, Va.), along with senior Chuck Hargis (Powell, Tenn.)

The Bucs finish the season with 31 wins for the second consecutive season, becoming the first ETSU squad to post back-to-back 30-plus win seasons since the 1981 and 1982 campaigns.