After rallying to take the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against Yale, the Stetson Hatters couldn't maintain the momentum, dropping the second game of the day, and the series, to the Bulldogs.
 
Stetson is now 8-11 on the season while Yale moved to 5-10.
 
The Hatters will be back in action on Tuesday night in Daytona when they face off against Bethune-Cookman. That game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.
 
Game 1 – Stetson 7, Yale 5
 
In a yo-yo affair, Stetson got a two-run single from freshman Mark Townsend in the eighth inning to break a 5-5 tie and propel the Hatters to the win.
 
Sophomore Chris Gonzalez (2-0) worked 2.2 innings of scoreless relief for Stetson to earn the win behind freshman starter Daniel Paret. Senior Vlad Nunez closed out the game in the ninth for his fourth save of the season.
 
Yale took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when the Bulldogs opened the frame with a walk and consecutive hits. Mason LaPlante singled off the foot of Paret to plate the run.
 
Paret responded by retiring nine consecutive Yale hitters, giving his teammates a chance to rally.
 
Stetson took the lead for the first time in the fourth inning, getting four hits off Yale starter Kumar Nambiar. E.J. Doskow had the big blow with a two-run double. Jorge Arenas followed an out later with an RBI single for a 3-1 Hatters lead.
 
The Hatters pushed their lead to 4-1 in the fifth when Austin Bogart delivered a sacrifice fly to score Andrew MacNeil.
 
That lead was erased by a four-run sixth inning for Yale, who had three hits to go with two walks and a hit batter in the frame to take a 5-4 lead.
 
Stetson knotted the score in the seventh when Jake Murphy scored on a wild pitch, setting the stage for Townsend to deliver the winning runs in the eighth.
 
Townsend, Arenas and Baylen Sparks led Stetson with two hits each in the game.
 
Game 2 – Yale 7, Stetson 3
 
There weren't many hits early in the second game of the day, but things picked up later.
 
Stetson freshman Bret Neilan (1-1) and Yale junior Alex Stiegler (2-2) matched up in a pitchers' duel early
 
Yale caught a break in the first inning when Jake Gehri's drive down the line in left stayed straight, hitting the fair pole for a home run.
 
The game stayed 1-0 until the sixth inning when the Bulldogs pushed their lead to 3-0 on a two-run homer to center by Griffin Dey.
 
Stetson answered in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs to tie the game. Benito Varela got things started with a solo homer to right. After Andrew MacNeil was hit by a pitch, Jacob Koos singled before Townsend delivered an RBI single scoring MacNeil, with Koos following on a throwing error.
 
Yale came right back, chasing Neilan in the sixth and scoring four times to take control of the game. The Bulldogs batted around in the inning with Simon Whiteman's two-run single breaking the tie. Mason LaPlante greeted reliever Danny Garcia with a bloop single to score a run and the a sacrifice fly scored another.
 
The Hatters had three innings to answer the Yale rally, but managed just one hit, striking out seven times over those innings.
 
Steigler worked eight strong innings on the mound for the Bulldogs, posting 14 strikeouts without allowing a walk to get the win. He and Dey, who pitched the final inning, held Stetson to just five hits in the game. Townsend and Koos had two hits each to lead the Hatters.
 
Gehri had three hits to lead Yale's 10-hit attack.
 
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.