DeLand, Fla. ? A furious late comeback came up just short as Stetson (16-21, 7-9) dropped the series opener 9-7 to Belmont (21-16, 12-7) Friday night on Melching Field.

Sean Emory (Miami, Fla.), Aaron Crittenden (Fort Myers, Fla.) and Alex Hudak (Sorrento, Fla.) each had two of Stetson's 10 hits on the night.

Belmont opened the scoring two runs in the top of the second inning on a single, a walk and a 2-RBI double. Stetson answered in the bottom half on a leadoff home run by Aaron Crittenden (Fort Myers, Fla.) into the parking lot beyond the right field fence. It was his fifth round tripper of the season.

The Bruins came right back to score three in the top of the third on four consecutive singles and a sacrifice fly. After a home run and two more runs in the top of the fifth, Stetson starter Robby Donovan was done for the night. He took the loss and dropped to 3-3 on the season after giving up seven runs on eight hits. Donovan struck out six batters and walked three.

After adding single runs in the sixth and seventh innings Belmont held a 9-1 lead. Stetson made a run in bottom of the seventh with six runs on three hits, two walks, one error, and three wild pitches.

Four Hatters took to the mound Friday night and totaled 13 total strike outs. After Donovan, David Burns (Seminole, Fla.), Tucker Donahue (Coral Springs, Fla.), and Robbie Powell (Punta Gorda, Fla.) pitched for the home team. Burns threw two innings allowing one run and striking out two. Donahue tossed one inning allowing one run and striking out one batter. Powell threw the final two scoreless innings and struck out four Bruins.

Stetson and Belmont will return to Melching Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at noon. 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.