After picking up some momentum on Saturday in a double-header sweep at The Citadel, the Stetson Hatters fell right back into some bad habits on Tuesday night in a 9-0 loss to visiting FIU.
 
Stetson (7-11) managed just five hits in the game against a quartet of Panthers (10-7) pitchers, including just three in six innings against FIU's freshman starter Nick MacDonald (2-0). It wasn't until the seventh inning that the Hatters managed to even get two runners on base in the same inning.
 
"It was a bad baseball game," Hatters coach Steve Trimper said. "I want to be transparent with the team, and we didn't play well. It is not indicative of what I believe this team is or what they are capable of. Being as honest as I can be, we didn't do anything well in that game. We didn't play good defense, we didn't pitch well and we got ourselves out a lot more than they got us out."
 
Stetson never mounted any kind of offensive threat in the game while FIU not only had scoring opportunities in almost every inning, the Panthers scored in six of their nine turns at bat. The Hatters hurt themselves in the game, allowing three unearned runs thanks to a pair of crucial errors.
 
"It can be frustrating at times and my whole goal is to not make this a frustrating situation because I want these guys to get better," Trimper said. "In the same sense, we don't want to take a step forward and then a step back all the time, and that is the way we have been playing. This isn't about newness or making drastic adjustments, it is about competing. It is about hunting out good pitches and having quality at bats."
 
FIU scored all the runs it would need in the first inning when Derek Cartaya led off the game with a single off Hatters' freshman Ryan Stark (1-2) and later scored on a two-out single by Kenny Meimerstorf, who had three hits in the game. It was two-out production again for the Panthers in the fourth inning that produced a pair of runs on a double by Zach Files.
 
An error in the fifth opened the door for two more FIU runs. Zack Soria then led off the sixth with a triple and scored on a Files single. Soria finished the game with four hits, scored four runs and finished just a home run short of the cycle.
 
Junior Ben Onyshko allowed a pair of unearned runs in the seventh inning thanks to an error that opened the frame and three walks. Soria doubled to lead off the ninth off Mitchell Senger and came in to score the final run on a pinch-hit single by Kolby Folks.
 
"We have to make as many adjustments as we can over the next 24 hours and get back out here tomorrow and not play that way," Trimper said. "It is baseball, and you play almost every day. We will have an opportunity to go out and fix it tomorrow. We have to continue to teach those guys to have better quality and competitive at bats."
 
Freshman Austin Bogart (0-1) will get the start on the mound for the Hatters on Wednesday night and will be opposed by FIU freshman Tyler Myrick (1-0). The game will have an early start, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.