Baseball fever came to DeLand for a short period of time. For the first time in school history, the Stetson University baseball team hosted and won an NCAA Regional Championship. The team went on to the Super Regional tournament against University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC where Stetson’s cinderella season came to an end, but it lit a spark in a town that is hungry to see their hometown university be national competitors.
On June 1 -3, 2018 the University hosted a regional tournament that included the Hartford, University of South Florida and Oklahoma State University baseball teams in a round-robin style tournament where Stetson dominated each performance going undefeated in the tournament. Melching Field at Conrad Park experienced full crowds during each of Stetson’s games, many of whom were not regular attenders of Stetson Baseball games. The sites and sounds of families and baseball lovers of young and old filled the seats. Despite several weather delays throughout the weekend, the crowds remained strong and were elated to see the hometown Hatters make history.
Although Stetson didn’t host the next stage, the Super Regionals, the town and alumni united together and formed watch parties on June 8 and 9. One of which was at Persimmon Hollow Brewing Company in DeLand, where several locals came during lunch hours during a Friday to unite in solidarity and support their hometown team. Businesses all over town such as Swann Real Estate had televisions on in the office to cheer on the Hats.
Even though the team didn’t make it to the next round, a foundation of a successful program and a renewed energy for Stetson sports was planted. “What a wild ride this year,” said senior catcher Austin Hale in a Daytona Beach News-Journal interview. “It’s been the most fun ride I’ve ever been a part of. I forgot what it was like to lose. I’d argue that this is the best team in Stetson baseball history, and I’m thankful to be a part of it.”
Several players were recently drafted by Major League Baseball teams, including pitcher Logan Gilbert who was drafted in the first round by the Seattle Mariners. Head Coach Steve Trimper’s positive coaching style combined with the recent success of the program is expected to bring recruits to the Stetson program for the foreseeable future.
If you live in DeLand and missed Stetson’s historic run, you can support the program through purchasing season tickets at www.gohatters.com or calling the University ticket office at (386) 738-HATS.