(NOTE: This is the first of a six part preview of the 2018 Stetson Baseball team. Tomorrow: It All Starts on the Mound)

Every team enters a new season with high hopes and expectations – it is only natural. For the 2018 Stetson Baseball team, those expectations inside the clubhouse are being shared by college baseball fans and observers around the country.
 
The Hatters were picked by the coaches in the ASUN Conference to win the league title this year after finishing a strong second in 2017. Despite all of the great accomplishments accumulated by the program over the last four decades, regular season league titles have been hard to come by. Stetson has won the ASUN crown just once in the last 10 seasons and just three times since the turn of the millennium.

Add to that a preseason ranking of 37^th by Collegiate Baseball, six players named to the preseason All-Conference team and numerous All-America honors for junior pitcher Logan Gilbert, and the pressure will be on for Stetson to perform well this spring.
 
But that is something this team, in coach Steve Trimper's second season, should expect.
 
"We have talked about that a lot from day one, when we thought we had a chance to be a much improved ball club," Trimper said. "That is what our own expectations are. With that being said, some of these guys are in uncharted waters where they are being ranked a certain way, whether that be in a national poll or in the conference poll.
 
"As the guys came back from fall break, my message was, 'Congratulations! People are recognizing that you are working hard, but that doesn't dictate where we are today.' I asked them if they want to stay 37^th, or would they like to move one direction or the other. The decision is going to dictate how hard we have to work to gain each spot, or not work to lose those spots. The message was we want to be higher than that. To do that, we have to set the ground work and do everything much harder and with much more intensity than we have ever done."
 
Coming off a 27-29 campaign last spring might not normally generate such high expectations, but the Hatters have 80 percent of their offensive production back from last year and 90 percent of their pitching returns. That includes 487 of the school record 538 strikeouts posted by the Hatters' hurlers last year.
 
"My message is it is nice to be recognized but, like every coach before has said, we want to be there at the end of the year and this really doesn't mean anything because it's only on paper," Trimper said. "I don't want to lose the fact that these guys have worked hard to get to this position and we wanted to celebrate that for a moment, but we have to immediately change gears and live up to those expectations in a multitude of ways."
 
One of the main things Trimper wants to have happen is the team become so used to the feeling of celebrating its successes that it works even harder to avoid having the losses he knows are inevitable.
 
"We are going to lose a game we feel we shouldn't have lost," Trimper said. "That is going to happen within the first month of the season. How we react to that, and learn from that experience, so it doesn't happen again is the key. Another thing about celebrating the wins is it makes losing even more hurtful."
 
The Hatters will have every opportunity to find success early in the year with 21 consecutive home games to open the season. Taking advantage of that early home slate, especially coming off just the second losing record (16-20) in home games since Melching Field opened in 1999, will be important with just three home series over the final two months of the year.
 
Stetson has averaged 23 home wins per year in the 18 seasons at Melching Field, winning as many as 29 in a season twice. With 35 games on the home slate this spring, the Hatters want to better take advantage of their home fans and facility.
 
To better accomplish that goal, Trimper has embarked on an ambitious facility renovation project that will be completed in phases. Fans will see some new netting down the first and third base lines this year in addition to some work to commemorate the past in the concourse and outside the stadium. The Hatters players will get to take advantage of a newly remodeled lounge area this year, with renovations for the locker room, training room and coaches offices planned for after the season.
 
"We wanted to take a step back and evaluate the program and decide our vision for both the short term and the long term," Trimper said. "From day one, Jeff Altier has been very receptive and we have targeted the things we see every day – whether it is the locker room or the players' lounge, the offices or the training room – things that are going to benefit our players.
 
"Those things give you a sense of pride after a facelift and will help with recruiting. You don't win games because of your players' lounge, but you can show off how important your program is to the University and to the alumni by giving the upgrades to those areas."
 
Trimper said the support he received from the university, alumni and the community in his first year on the job was amazing, which drives him even more to reach the heights he sees for the program.
 
"What an unbelievable place with unbelievable coaches and support staff, a president and university administration we are surrounded with," Trimper said. "There is an incredible opportunity to grow this place, with the help of our alumni, who want to help us succeed. The most surprising thing to me is how much people really care about this program. I have to thank more people every day. The only time I talk about I or me is when I talk about how fortunate I am to be here and be surrounded by great people."

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.