PROVO, UT – The Stetson Hatters faced a tough challenge on Thursday, falling to the BYU Cougars 10-2 in snowy road conditions.

Junior TJ Melani (0-1) started for Stetson (8-6) but took the loss. Senior Justin Solimine was a bright spot out of the bullpen, pitching 3.1 scoreless innings while allowing three hits, two walks, and striking out three.

At the plate, Lopez led the Hatters, going 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Sophomore Juan De La Cruz added to the offense, finishing 1-for-4 with a double.

Down 9-0, Stetson broke through in the eighth inning when De La Cruz crossed home plate, making it 9-1.

BYU tacked on a run in the bottom of the eighth to extend the lead to 10-1. The Hatters responded in the ninth with an RBI single by Lopez, trimming the deficit to 10-2, but the late push wasn’t enough.

Stetson will try to bounce back in game three of the four-game series on Friday at 5:00 PM ET.