It was a cold, wet, miseable night on the diamond at Melching Field, and the weather was only part of the proplem. Stetson pitchers surrendered 17 hits allowing Wichita State to bounce back from an early 5-0 deficit to defeat the Hatters 11-8.
 
Stetson's scheduled game against FIU earlier in the day was canceled by the miserable weather conditions. The teams will make that game up at a later date.
 
The Hatters (13-7) just couldn't find a way to keep the Shockers (8-7) off the bases after Stetson starter Chris Gonzalez retired the first seven WSU hitters to start the game. The Shockers put runners on base and scored in every inning after the second except the eight, when Bret Neilan came in the strike out the side.
 
On the other side, Stetson jumped on WSU starter Spencer Hynes early in the game, and were on the verge of getting to the Shockers' bullpen during a four-run second inning. Once Hynes got out of that inning, he retired seven straight before allowing consecutive hits to open the fifth. The Hatters stranded those two runners, along with seven others in the game.
 
Gonzalez, after the good start, allowed eight runs on 11 hits over 6.1 innings of work. It was the second most hits he has ever allowed in a game for Stetson and tied for the most runs. Gavin Sullivan was first out of the pen, but only threw five pitches, allowing three hits.
 
Neilan squelched the Shockers' five-run seventh inning and retired five straight before a pair of wind-aided bloop hits in the ninth helped WSU tack on an insurance run.
 
The Hatters managed just eight hits against the trio of Shockers pitchers with Andrew MacNeil, Hernen Sardinas and Eric Foggo getting two each.
 
The Hatters will be back on the diamond on Sunday to face FIU at 3:30 p.m. The Panthers and Shockers will meet in the early Sunday game, with first pitch scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
 
Game Facts

• Win – Ryan Stuempfig (3-0)
• Loss – Gavin Sullivan (1-1)
• Save – Aaron Haase (4)
• Time – 3:12

Scoring Summary

• B1 – An error, two walks and a hit batter put Stetson on the board for a 1-0 lead.
• B2 – Christian Pregent led off the inning with an opposite field homer for a 2-0 lead. The Hatters kept at it, getting a single and a walk before Andrew MacNeil doubled home two runs. One out later, Eric Foggo singled to score MacNeil for a 5-0 Stetson lead.
• T3 – The Shockers put three straight hits on the board to load the bases and pushed across a run with a ground out.
• T4 – Wichita State continued to battle back, getting a leadoff double by Garrett Kocis and then consecutive singles by David VanVooren and Ross Cadena plated a run. The Shockers plated a second run when Cadena got into a run down long enough for VanVooren to scamper home.
• T5 – WSU got back to within one after Gonzalez hit Cornblum and then walked Wallace. Kocis singled to center to make it a 5-4 Stetson lead.
• T6 – Chuck Ingram blasted a solo homer to tie the game 5-5.
• B6 – Two walks and an error loaded the bases for Hernen Sardinas, who unloaded them with a three-run double, putting Stetson back on time 8-5.
• T7 – The Shockers sent nine batters to the plate against three Stetson pitchers, scoring five times to take a 10-8 lead.
• T9 – A weather-aided bloop triple to left by Kocsis was followed by a weather-aided bloop single to left, pushing the final run across for the Shockers.

Hatters Notes

• Brandon Hylton continues to be out of the lineup for the Hatters following the collision he was involved in at first base last weekend in Tuscaloosa.
• Infielder Banks Griffith also was out for the second straight day.
• Sardinas picked up his 10^th double of the season. Each of the Hatters that had two hits in the game had a double.
• Christian Pregent hit his first homer of the year. He is the ninth different player to homer for Stetson this year.
• The 17 hits allowed by Stetson pitching tied a season-high. The Hatters also allowed 17 hits in a 14-12 victory over South Florida on Tuesday.

 
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.