Just four weeks remain in the 2018 season, and the race for the ASUN Baseball title is still wide open. For the Stetson Hatters, the home stretch of the season begins on Friday in Jacksonville at Harmon Stadium, the site of the ASUN Championship Tournament next month.
 
Stetson will square off against North Florida in a three-game weekend series with the games scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Richard Miller on play-by-play and Ryan Roberson on color.
 
The Hatters (30-11, 6-3) go into the series on a high after topping Florida State on Tuesday night. UNF (19-19, 4-5) will be well-rested, having not played since April 18.
 
Stetson and UNF have played two common non-conference foes this year - Bethune-Cookman and South Florida. The Hatters went 5-0 against those teams while UNF went 1-3.
 
With the win over FSU, the Hatters moved up to 23rd in the most recent RPI according to D1Baseball.com. UNF enters play this weekend ranked at No. 134. Stetson's remaining opponents are ranked as follows: Jacksonville (15), FGCU (38), Miami (80), FIU (138) and USC Upstate (225).
 
The Hatters come into the series having defeated the Ospreys in four consecutive meetings, with all four wins coming by one run. Prior to the Stetson win streak, UNF owned a seven-game win streak in the series, which first started in 1988 and became a fixture when the Ospreys joined the ASUN for the 2006 season.
 
During regular season league play the Hatters and Ospreys have evenly split 36 games, both winning 18 times. Not only are the total games evenly split, but the series have been equally divided with Stetson sweeping twice (2011, 17), UNF sweeping twice (2015, 16), Stetson winning 2-1 four times (2007, 09, 12, 13) and UNF winning 2-1 four times (2006, 08, 10, 14).
 
Stetson owns a victory in the only post-season tournament meeting between the programs, in 2016. In 47 all-time meetings, games between the Hatters and Ospreys have been decided by one run, with Stetson owning a 9-3 record in those games.
 
Friday's series opener will feature two of the top contenders for ASUN Pitcher of the Year honors. Both Logan Gilbert (7-1, 2.69) and UNF's Frank German (5-2, 1.32) have been named ASUN Pitcher of the Week twice this year and the duo sits at or near the top of the ASUN in many statistical categories. Gilbert leads the ASUN in strikeouts and is tied for the lead in wins while German leads the league in ERA and opponent batting average.
 
On Saturday, Stetson will send junior right-hander Jack Perkins (6-2, 3.34) will square off against Osprey's junior left-hander Austin Drury (3-1, 5.01). Sunday's game will see Stetson sophomore left-hander Mitchell Senger (5-2, 2.59) take the mound against an as yet unnamed UNF starter.
 
Likely candidates for the job are sophomore right-hander Cooper Bradford (4-1, 4.93) and junior right-hander Brad Deppermann (0-2, 5.84). Both UNF hurlers have been used to close out games this year as well as start.
 
Offensively, UNF is led by sophomore outfielder Tanner Murphy with a .359 average and a league-high 10 home runs in addition to leading the league in slugging percentage and total bases.
 
As a team, Stetson enters the weekend leading the ASUN in pitching (ERA) and defense (fielding pct.), but is last in team batting average.
Here are some milestones that are within reach for some Hatters this week.

• Jorge Arenas needs six hits for 100 in his career.
• Logan Gilbert's next win will be the 20th of his career.
• Austin Hale's next double will be the 30th in his career and his next RBI will be the 75th. Hale is fourth on the career putouts list, 13 behind Brooks Stephens for third, and is second in total defensive chances with 1413, leaving him 282 from the record.
• Jacob Koos is one hit shy of 150 in his career.
• Jack Perkins is 9.1 innings shy of 200 for his career.
• Mitchell Senger is 9 Ks shy of 100 for the season.
• Mike Spooner is 2 RBI shy of 75 in his career.
• Brooks Wilson is eight strikeouts away from 300 in his career. He is tied for 6th on the career saves list and is three away from Robbie Powell's season record of 18 saves set in 2012.

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.