Kennesaw, Ga. – The real season for the Stetson baseball team begins Friday afternoon when the Hatters square off against Kennesaw State at Stillwell Stadium.
 
The series opener between the Owls (15-14, 2-1) and Hatters (23-6) is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch. All three games in the weekend series are scheduled to be broadcast via Facebook. Live stats for the series will be available through Stetsonstats.com.
 
All of the teams in the ASUN except Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast started league play last weekend. The Owls opened by taking two of three games at USC Upstate.
 
The Owls defeated the Hatters in three of four meetings last year, all in DeLand, scoring 25 runs in the four games to take a two-game lead in the all-time series between the programs – 20-18.
 
This is the third time Stetson has opened conference play with a series against Kennesaw State. The Hatters faced the Owls to open league play in 2015, sweeping that series in DeLand. The teams also met on the second weekend of the 2002 season, opening league play early, with the Owls taking two of three at Kennesaw.
 
Stetson has not won a series at Kennesaw State since sweeping the 2007 series at Stillwell Stadium. The Hatters are a combined 3-9 in their last four series at Kennesaw State.
 
Stetson's Logan Gilbert, who along with Brooks Wilson, was listed as a second team mid-season All-America selection by Perfect Game, will make the opening game start for the Hatters.
 
Since the start of his 16-game win streak on the mound, Gilbert (6-0, 2.25) has failed to qualify for a victory by working less than five full innings just twice, and one of those two came in his start last year against Kennesaw State. Gilbert worked just 4.2 innings against the Owls, allowing three runs on four hits with four walks and eight strikeouts in a game the Hatters won 10-4.
 
He will be opposed in the series opener by the only one of the three KSU hurlers expected to start this weekend who has faced Stetson in the past in senior A.J. Moore. In three career appearances against Stetson, two starts, Moore is 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA over 13.2 innings of work. He has allowed just four runs, but has surrendered 13 hits with three walks and 12 Ks.
 
The Hatters will be looking to break out of a seven-game team hitting slump during which Stetson has hit .181 as a team. Only senior Nico Torino (.400), junior Mike Spooner (.357) and sophomore Jorge Arenas (.346) have been relatively unscathed by the slump. The rest of the team is hitting just .118 during the recent stretch.
 
While Spooner was swinging a good bat, he has missed the last three games with a sore wrist and is questionable for the series this weekend. With sophomore Andrew MacNeil (shoulder) and junior Kirk Sidwell (knee) also out of action, the Stetson outfield corps is very thin with only junior Jacob Koos and sophomore Austin Bogart available with experience. Junior first baseman Baylen Sparks is the most likely right fielder, if Spooner is unavailable, with freshman Jake Murphy in reserve.
 
The Stetson pitching staff has continued to deliver remarkable results on the mound. The Hatters enter the weekend ranked first in the nation in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.42), in WHIP (1.00) and in team ERA (2.12). The Hatters are fifth in K/9 (10.6) and 16th in K-to-BB ratio (2.98).
 
In the two games against UCF this year, Stetson racked up 25 strikeouts, two of 20 games this year in which the Hatters have hit double figures. Stetson is third in total strikeouts in Division I with 310.
The other two expected starters for the Owls this week - Brooks Buckler (2-1, 2.72) and Jake Rothwell (3-1, 4.58) - are both junior college transfers from the state of Florida. Buckler played at Tallahassee CC and Rothwell at Daytona State.
 
The Hatters are expected to counter with junior Jack Perkins (3-2, 3.23) on Saturday and sophomore Mitchell Senger (4-1, 2.30) in the series finale on Sunday.
 
Saturday's game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start time, but may end up getting moved due to rain expected throughout the day with temperatures forecast to plummet into the 30s after the front passes. Sunday's finale is set for a 1 p.m. start.
 
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.