Gainesville, Fla. ? The Hatters were in the ballgame early, yet in the end could not hold off the attack of the #20 ranked Gators. Stetson (16-20) fell 15-4 to Florida (25-12) in Gainesville.

For Stetson the key statistic was 12 runners left on base, all in the first five innings. In the top of fifth the Hatters loaded the bases but could not score. After leaving another three runners on base the momentum shifted to the home team. In the bottom of the inning the Gators scored four runs and jumped out to a 7-3 lead. Stetson had just two batters reach base in the final four innings.

Freshman Mark Jones (Palm Coast, Fla.) and Jeff Simpson (Valrico, Fla.) continued their hot hitting with three hits each. Jeremy Cruz (Miami, Fla.) was 2-for-3 with two walks, and freshman catcher Nick Rickles (Loxahatchee, Fla.) finished with two hits in four at bats. As a team Stetson had 13 hits in the game.

Six Hatters took the mound. Freshman Jake Boyd (Greenacres, Fla.) threw the final inning and was the only one who did not surrender at least one run. Jake Hitchcock (Alachua, Fla.) started the game and pitched 3 2/3 innings. He allowed three runs and struck out a pair. He was relieved by David Burns (Seminole, Fla.) who gave up three runs and took the loss dropping to 2-4 on the season

The Gators marked the scoreboard first... Literally. With two runners on in the bottom of the first inning Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) hit a ball off the scoreboard in right field to give Florida a 3-0 lead.  It was his fourth home run in consecutive at bats in McKethan Stadium.

Stetson pulled even with three runs in the third inning. With one out Jones ripped a low liner that deflected off the pitchers leg and resulted in a single. He advanced to second when Sean Emory (Miami, Fla.) reached on an error and then scored on a Simpson single to centerfield. Casey Frawley (New Haven, Ct.) walked to load the bases and Cruz followed with another base on balls to deliver the second run. Aaron Crittenden (Fort  Myers, Fla.) knocked in the third run with a sacrifice fly to left field plating Simpson.

Seven runs for Florida in the sixth inning and one more in the seventh secured the win.

Stetson scored its final run in the eighth inning after Emory singled up the middle and eventually came home on a sacrifice fly by Frawley.

Stetson will return home to DeLand this weekend to host Belmont University in a three-game conference series. They will play Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Stetson fans can hear all 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.