The story for the Stetson Hatters on Tuesday night was much the same as it has been for the last week.
 
The Hatters struggled to generate any offense against visiting Seton Hall, getting runners to third base time and time again, but failing to get a crucial hit to drive the runners home.
 
The Hatters also continued to struggle on the mound late in games, surrendering three runs to the visiting Pirates in the ninth inning, turning a one-run game into a 5-1 Seton Hall victory.
 
The teams will square off again on Wednesday afternoon with the first pitch moving to 3 p.m.
 
Three times in the game Stetson had runners at second and third with less than two out. All three times, the Seton Hall pitchers got strikeouts to get out of trouble.
 
"Baseball is all about competing and when you are 0-for-4 when you have a chance to drive a run in from third base, it is pretty hard to win a game," Hatters coach Steve Trimper said. "We have to make contact in those situations and get the ball to the middle of the field. That was the difference in the game tonight.
 
"We are scrambling to try to get some kind of offense going. We are not competing in what we are doing and if you keep doing the same things over and over again while expecting different results, it is the definition of insanity. We are not going to continue to do that."
 
One of the few bright spots in the game for Stetson (5-8) was the work of freshman Ryan Stark on the mound. He came on in the third inning after starter Austin Bogart (0-1) surrendered a pair of runs in the second and a leadoff hit in the third. Stark held Seton Hall (5-6) scoreless for five innings, allowing just three hits with six strikeouts and no walks.
 
"We are still trying to find guys who will compete in those roles, and Ryan was one of the few guys who had a great compete factor tonight," Trimper said. "I told our guys that we still have to learn how to compete. We have to find the right guys to put out there and get it done.
 
"We need seven guys who can go out there and get the job done and right now we are sitting at five. When you play two mid-week games every week and three on the weekend, you have to have guys who can go out there and get the job done, and we don't have that right now."
 
The Hatters were blanked through the first five innings by Pirates' sophomore Billy Layne, Jr. (1-0). He scattered four hits and did not walk anyone in his first collegiate start. Matt Leon followed suit, blanking Stetson for the next two innings before the Hatters finally produced a run in the eighth inning on a Bogart double into the right field corner off another reliever, Rick DeVito.
 
With one out and runners at second and third, DeVito recorded a pair of strikeouts to avoid further damage.
 
Seton Hall then broke the game open in the ninth, scoring three runs off junior reliever Dean Garabedian. Joe Poduslenko and Ryan Ramiz had back-to-back two out doubles to give the Pirates all the extra cushion they would need.
 
Stetson threatened in the home half of the ninth. Colton Lightner singled and Andrew MacNeil drew a walk to open the frame. The Pirates called on side-winder Ryan Testani from the bullpen, and he promptly hit Ben Rowdon to load the bases with no one out.
 
Testani settled down to get both Jacob Koos and Austin Hale on strikes before Mike Spooner grounded out to end the game. It was the second save of the year for Testani.
 
"We are going to make some changes," Trimper said of his offense. "We are going to change the way our offensive approach is. We are going to learn it on the fly. We are going to learn how to two-strike hit and how to get guys in because we have no hope of being successful unless we learn how to do those things."
 
Lightner had two of the six hits in the game for the Stetson offense. The Hatters were unable to take advantage of five Seton Hall errors on the night. Ramiz had three hits to lead the Pirates' offensive attack.
 
"It was an ugly game," Trimper said. "We can't gain momentum when we are always chasing. We had a chance to gain momentum in the first inning and in the second inning, just like the other losses. We have three losses in a row because we are not taking advantage of opportunities. We are just not getting the job done right now."
 
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.