Charleston, SC - The Stetson baseball team will play its first road series of the season this weekend against The Citadel at Riley Park.

The series will open early on Friday evening, with a 5 p.m. first pitch. The Hatters and Bulldogs will then play a double-header on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. The series schedule was adjusted due to the high chance of rain in the Charleston area on Sunday.

The Hatters (5-9) will be looking to snap out of a four-game losing skid against a Citadel team (3-8) that Stetson swept in a series last spring at Melching Field and also comes into the weekend having lost four straight. That sweep last year gave Stetson a 6-4 lead in the all-time series.

In addition to being available on the SoCon Digital Network, the games will also be broadcast on WSBB AM 1230 and AM 1490 with Bill Topping and Dave Marsh calling the action. 

In the series opener last year it was Stetson standout Mitchell Jordan squaring off with Citadel ace J.P. Sears in a classic pitchers' dual. That game was tied 1-1 until the bottom of the sixth when Cory Reid hit a decisive two-run home run off Sears. Walker Sheller pitched the last two innings for his second save in a 3-1 Stetson win.

Stetson's Brooks Wilson dominated in the second game, holding the Bulldogs to just two hits while striking out what was then a career-high 11 in a complete-game 7-0 shutout. Wilson earned ASUN Pitcher of the Week for his outing.

In the series finale Logan Gilbert allowed just one unearned run on one hit over five innings as the Hatters built a 9-1 lead before settling for an 11-5 victory.

Wilson (1-0, 2.00) will square off with Sears (1-1, 2.45) in the series opener on Friday. The duo has combined for 60 strikeouts in three outings. Sears had 15 in his start against College of Charleston while Wilson posted a career-high 12 in his outing against High Point.

On Saturday sophomore Jack Perkins (0-2, 3.60) will face freshman Will Abbott (0-1, 6.75) in the opening game of the twin-bill. Gilbert (1-0, 0.50 ERA) will square off with freshman left-hander Will Pillsbury (0-3, 8.10) in the second game.

Stetson pitchers are happy to have junior Austin Hale back behind the plate. Hale, who was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List on Thursday, missed six games early in the season while dealing with the after effects of off-season shoulder surgery. So far this year, Hale has thrown out seven of 14 would-be base-stealers this year.

Sophomore leadoff hitter Jacob Koos has reached base in 12 straight games and enters the series against The Citadel with a seven-game hitting streak. Koos is hitting .304 on the year and has been successful on six of nine stolen base attempts.