The Stetson baseball team will be back in action on Tuesday night when the Hatters travel down I-4 for a game against the USF Bulls.
It will be the first of two meetings this season for the long-time rivals. It will be the 170th all-time meeting on the diamond between the programs, which ranks as the third most between the Hatters and another program. Stetson has only played Rollins (196) and Jacksonville (171) more times than USF.
The game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start at USF Stadium and will be video streamed on Facebook with live audio also available.
The Hatters (19-5) will make their third attempt for their 20th victory of the year after having their bats cooled over the final two days at Maryland, scoring just one run in two games. Those two losses mark the first time this season Stetson has lost consecutive games.
USF (18-7) comes in having won two of three games from Connecticut in the first American Conference series of the year.
The Bulls and Hatters have faced just two mutual opponents so far this year. USF swept three game series from both Central Michigan and Army while the Hatters defeated the Chippewas in their only encounter and split a pair of games against the Black Knights. USF has also already played both Jacksonville and UNF twice this year, splitting with the Dolphins and taking both games from the Ospreys, and defeated FGCU in their first encounter of the year.
The series between Stetson and USF is as close as possible. Stetson leads the all-time series by just one win (85-84), with that win coming in the last of three meetings last year, a game the Hatters won 6-0 behind the combined pitching efforts of
Jack Perkins and
Brooks Wilson. Despite Stetson's slim lead in the all-time series, USF has outscored the Hatters all-time 1,014 to 976, a margin of 38 runs.
Stetson is looking to bounce back from losing its first series of the season last weekend at Maryland. The Hatters took the opening game in College Park with ease, winning 12-3, but managed just one run in the final two games as the Terrapins cooled the recently hot Stetson bats. The Hatters were shutout for just the second time this year in the series finale and managed just two hits and three base-runners in a game that lasted just an hour and 52 minutes and included a brief snow shower.
None of the three base-runners in the game for Stetson advanced past first base.
Stetson is expected to send junior right-hander
Joey Gonzalez to the mound for his fifth start of the year. In his last outing, last week in relief against FIU, Gonzalez earned his fifth win of the season with three shutout innings of work. In six appearances this year he has allowed just two runs, and only one earned run.
Gonzalez will be opposed by USF freshman right-hander Baron Stuart (2-1, 4.29) who has pitched in three games against ASUN foes, allowing four runs in outings against Jacksonville (5.1 innings) and UNF (4.0 innings), while holding FGCU to just one run in 5.0 innings of work.
The Stetson bullpen is completely rested after the trip north, including the Hatters' top two relievers, left-hander
Ben Onyshko and right-handed closer
Brooks Wilson. Neither saw action on the mound in the series at Maryland.
USF is led offensively by junior infielder David Villar with a .391 batting average, four home runs and 24 RBI. As a team, the Bulls are hitting .297 on the year with 16 home runs while averaging almost seven runs per game.
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.
