Nashville, Tenn.- Freshmen Ethan Maskolunas (Lakeland, Fla.) and Alex Hudak (Sorrento, Fla.) led the Hatters with two hits each yet it wasn't enough as Stetson (8-13, 2-2) dropped the first game of its Atlantic Sun series against Lipscomb in Nashville.  Senior Jeremy Cruz (Miami, Fla.) belted his seventh home run of the season in the 12-5 loss.

Starting pitcher Robby Donovan (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) was tagged for 11 runs, five of which were unearned. Eight of the 11 runs came in the third inning. Donovan allowed 11 hits and struck out three batters in 4 1/3 innings of work and fell to 2-1 on the season. Rex Brothers picked up the win and improved his record to 4-1.

After falling behind by eleven runs through five innings, the Hatters initiated a comeback in the top of the sixth by taking advantage of a series of mishaps. Maskolunas and Casey Frawley (New Haven, Ct.) led off with back-to-back singles and moved up to second and third on a wild pitch. Maskolunas scored on a passed ball and Frawley was plated when Nick Rickles (Loxahatchee, Fla.) reached base on an error. Rickles scored the third run of the inning when the Bisons shortstop committed a throwing error on a single by Hudak.

In the top of the fifth Stetson narrowed the lead to 11-5 when Cruz launched a line drive home run with Jeff Simpson (Valrico, Fla.) on base after drawing a walk. That, however, was as close as the visitors would come. Lipscomb added a solo run in the eighth for the 12-5 final score.

Stetson will take on Lipscomb Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the second game of the series. The teams will play game three Sunday at 2:00 p.m. All times are eastern. Stetson fans can hear the games on Hatter Vision found at www.gohatters.com. The voice of Hatters baseball Bill Topping will call the action. Tickets for all Stetson home games can be purchased on line at gohatters.com or at the gate on game day.