After suffering just their second setback of the season on Wednesday night against Army, the Stetson baseball team will look to get back to its winning ways tonight when the Hatters open a four-game weekend series against Rhode Island.
 
The Hatters (14-2) and Rams (3-11) will square off this evening at 6:30 p.m. at Melching Field. It is Autism Awareness Day as the Hatters partner with Alpha Xi Delta Sorority to bring attention to that condition. It will also be Island night, with tropical themed music during the game.
 
Fans should also make plans to arrive at the ball park early to get their copy of this week's collectible poster featuring sophomore shortstop Jorge Arenas.
 
Stetson and the Rams will meet in a double-header on Saturday with the first game scheduled for 2 p.m. and the nightcap set for 6:30 p.m.
 
Sunday's series finale is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
 
Stetson is rapidly coming to the end of its season-opening 21-game home stand. They will host FIU on Wednesday at Melching Field before venturing to Maryland next weekend for a series against the Terrapins.
 
Junior RHP Joey Gonzalez ran his season-opening consecutive scoreless innings streak to 23 1/3 with six shutout innings against the Black Knights on Tuesday. Of the Hatters' six shutouts this season, Gonzalez was on the mound to start three.
 
With a chance to become the first Stetson team to win 10 straight games since 2002 on Wednesday night, the Hatters had an uncharacteristically poor performance in an 8-4 loss to Army.
 
Stetson pitchers combined to walk 12 Army hitters in the game, the most since allowing the same number against Kennesaw State last April. The Hatters also hit five batters, the most since hitting the same number against Illinois in March of 2016. Throw in two passed balls, the most since May of 2015 against FGCU, two wild pitches, a pair of costly errors and a number of mental mistakes and the final score was probably closer than it should have been.
 
Army left 16 runners on base on Wednesday, the most since the 16-inning ASUN Tournament game against Jacksonville in 2015 and the most in a nine-inning game since May 3, 2009, when UNF left 16 on base in a 10-8 Stetson win.
 
The offensive bright spot for the Hatters on Wednesday was senior Brooks Wilson, who had a career-high three hits in his first start at first base. Senior Nico Torino also continued to swing a hot bat, going 3-for-7 in the two games against Army with three RBI.
 
In Tuesday's 6-0 victory over the Black Knights, junior Joey Gonzalez continued his run of outstanding work on the mound with six shutout innings. He has now worked 23.1 innings so far this year without allowing a run. Three of Stetson's six shutouts have come in Gonzalez starts. He got an assist from junior Vlad Nunez, who worked the final three innings without allowing a hit for his first save as a Hatter.
 
Junior Logan Gilbert (3-0, 3.08) will take to the mound tonight against URI redshirt junior Tyler Wilson (0-3, 4.95). In his last outing, against Richmond, Gilbert worked seven innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts.
 
The Rams were picked to finish third in the 13-team A-10 this spring after finishing second last spring. URI returns most of its pitching from last year, including the return of Wilson, a two-time A-10 Pitcher of the Year, who missed most of the 2017 season with an injury. Wilson was a preseason All-American last year before the injury and has a career record of 20-8 with a 2.74 ERA in 35 career starts entering tonight's game.
 
Rhode Island comes into the series against the Hatters having played one of the most difficult opening schedules in the nation. The Rams opened the year with a three-game series at then No. 9 Texas A&M, then traveled to the west coach for a three-game series at Seattle before coming to Florida where they have played three games at Jacksonville and three at then No. 1 Florida.
 
Rhode Island coach Raphael Cerrato is in his fourth season as head coach at his alma mater. He was a team captain when he played for the Rams from 1989-93, earned All-Atlantic 10 honors as a player. He spent five seasons as head coach at Division II New Haven before returning to URI as an assistant in 2012. He has been named A-10 Coach of the Year twice in his three previous seasons.
 
In their six game so far against Florida teams, the Rams have scored a total of six runs. During their play against  Sunshine state teams, URI has a batting average of just .172, which has contributed to the teams' season average of just .197.
 
Stetson coach Steve Trimper will be looking to improve his 4-1 career record against URI. He is 1-1 against current Cerrato, having split a pair of games during the 2016 season. Trimper is 19-19-1 in his career against Atlantic 10 Conference foes.
 
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.