Chapel Hill, NC – The Stetson Hatters went through their paces on Thursday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium in preparation for their Super Regional showdown against North Carolina on Friday.
 
The Hatters (48-11) and Tar Heels (41-18) will open a best of three weekend series on Friday morning at 11 a.m. with the winner earning a spot in the College World Series in Omaha. All three games in the series, if it goes three games, are scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN2 with Roy Philpot and former Major League standout Todd Walker calling the action.
 
Stetson comes into the series riding an 18-game win streak, the longest active streak in the nation. The Hatters cruised through the DeLand Regional with wins over Hartford (8-3) and Oklahoma State (10-3 and 11-1) to advance to the Super Regional round for the first time in program history.
 
North Carolina, which is the No. 6 national seed in the tournament, also swept through its regional with the Tar Heels taking wins over North Carolina A&T (11-0) and Houston (4-3 and 19-11).
 
Stetson and UNC have not met on the diamond since the 1985 season, but have met 13 times in history with Stetson owning an 8-5 series advantage. All of the previous games between the programs – which were played between 1974 and 1985 – were played in DeLand.
 
The Hatters and Tar Heels also played a number of common opponents this year. Stetson posted an 8-4 record against common foes Virginia Tech, Richmond, South Florida, Maryland and Florida State while UNC posted an 8-3 mark. The Tar Heels also won two of three games against Miami, a team the Hatters faced for 4 ½ innings before Mother Nature intervened.
 
For Stetson coach Steve Trimper, squaring off against UNC is nothing new. He took his Maine team to NCAA Regional play in Chapel Hill in 2006 and again in 2011. He is 1-4 in his career against the Tar Heels.
 
Friday's opening game will feature Stetson junior right hander Logan Gilbert (11-1, 2.52) on the mound against UNC junior right-hander Cooper Criswell (5-2, 2.89). Gilbert was selected in the opening round of the MLB Draft on Monday, with the 14^th overall selection, by the Seattle Mariners. Gilbert, who is a finalist for the National Pitcher of the Year Award and has been named an All-American by both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America, was one of six Stetson players to have been drafted this week.
 
Criswell, who has just seven starts in his 23 appearances this year, was one of 10 UNC players selected in the MLB Draft. He went in the 13^th round to the Los Angeles Angels. He went six shutout innings in his last start, against N.C. A&T in the Regional opener, allowing just three hits with six strikeouts and no walks.  He has worked as deep as seven innings in a game twice this year, against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, winning both games while allowing just one earned run.
 
The Tar Heels come into the weekend hitting .284 as a team led by junior third baseman Kyle Datres (.343, 6 home runs, 34 RBI), a 12^th round selection of the Colorado Rockies, and sophomore first baseman Michael Busch (.329, 12 home runs, 61 RBI). Datres also leads the team with 12 stolen bases in 14 attempts.
 
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.