The Stetson baseball team will continue its season-opening home stand with a three-game series at Melching Field this weekend against the Colonials of George Washington University.
 
The games are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games are scheduled to be broadcast on Hatter Vision online and live stats will be available through Stetsonstats.com.
 
Friday's game will be Olympic themed with music and promotions designed to celebrate the games. There will also be free posters of Jack Gonzalez for the first 100 fans in the stadium on Friday. The Stetson University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will also be on hand to participate in Project Life, which is a drive to increase registration for the national bone marrow registry.
 
Saturday night will be new faculty and staff night with Stetson University Provost Noel Painter on hand to throw out the first pitch.
 
The Hatters have opened the 2018 season with a four-game win streak and have relied on dominant starting pitching to do so. Stetson pitchers have allowed just six runs (1.50) on 13 hits (3.25) over the first four games while recording 52 strikeouts (13.0). Stetson ranks 14^th in the nation in team ERA, eighth in strikeouts per nine innings and first in hits allowed per nine innings.
 
Over the opening series four games, four of the six runs the Hatters allowed came on one swing off preseason All-American Logan Gilbert. The junior right-hander will be looking to avoid that one mistake when he takes the mound against the Colonials (0-3) on Friday night.
 
Gilbert allowed five total runs, on five hits, over 5.1 innings of work in his opening day start against Manhattan. He walked just two in the outing and struck out 10.
 
He is scheduled to face off against GW senior right-hander Brady Renner. The Carle Place, NY, native did not pitch in the Colonials' season-opening series at Florida Atlantic last weekend. Renner made 15 starts for GW last year, posting an 8-5 record with a 3.42 ERA. For his career, he has a 10-9 record in 27 starts with a 4.10 ERA.
 
Like the Hatters, GW had a strong opening weekend on the mound despite dropping all three games to FAU. The 12 hurlers who saw action in the series allowed a total of eight earned runs in 3-0, 6-1 and 3-2 losses. The Colonials were hurt by 15 walks allowed as well as by the six errors that led to four unearned runs.
 
Saturday's second game is scheduled to pit Stetson junior right-hander Jack Perkins (1-0) against GW sophomore right-hander Elliott Raimo (0-1), who allowed four earned runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings against FAU. Perkins is looking to follow up on a brilliant performance, having allowed just one hit over 7.1 innings with 10 strikeouts in his season debut.
 
The series finale will pit Stetson sophomore left-hander Mitchell Senger (1-0) against GW junior right-hander Nathan Woods (0-0). Senger allowed just two hits in his debut, resulting in a pair of runs, one of which was unearned. He struck out a career-high nine against Manhattan. Woods allowed just three hits and one unearned run in his outing in Boca Raton. The only run he surrendered was unearned. He had a chance to get the win before FAU rallied for two runs in the ninth to walk-off with a 3-2 victory.
 
Of course, Stetson's starting pitchers know they have a net to work with in the Hatters' bullpen. So far, the four relievers who have worked have allowed just one hit in 10.1 innings of work with 17 strikeouts. Senior Brooks Wilson already owns three saves this year, which leads the country.
 
As a team, the Hatters rank second in the nation in WHIP (walks and hits allowed per inning) at 0.64, trailing only the University of Texas.
 
The Hatters' relief pitching may only get better because a number of hurlers who are expected to make major contributions this year but have not had a chance to work yet. The group includes junior Vlad Nunez, sophomores Jeremy Orbik, Erik Wiebke and Austin Bogart along with freshmen Chris Gonzalez and Zemp Schwab.
 
Offensively for GW, senior outfielder Mark Osis had five hits over the opening weekend. The Colonials hit just .186 as a team in the series against FAU.
 
Senior catcher Austin Hale and sophomore outfielder Andrew MacNeil lead the Hatters, both hitting .333 through four games. As a team, the Hatters have banged out 11 extra-base hits through four games, including a national best four triples. The result is a team slugging percentage of .400 so far.
 
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.