The Stetson baseball team will be back at Melching Field tonight to open the final four-game home stand of the 2019 season.
 
It will be a howling good time tonight when the Hatters host FIU for the last non-conference game of the season. It will be also be "Bark at the Park" night where fans can bring their four-legged friends along to take in the game.
 
The game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Stetson (21-29) took an 8-5 decision over FIU (22-29) back on March 12 in Miami. The Hatters used the excitement from its Miami area players in that game to get the win as the trio of Chris Gonzalez, Danny Garcia and Vlad Nunez handled the pitching duties in the win.
 
Offensively, Stetson took advantage of three FIU errors in the game while getting three RBI from Eric Foggo and two from Baylen Sparks.
 
Both the Hatters and Panthers are likely to be more focused on the task ahead this weekend as neither team has yet clinched a spot in their respective post-season tournaments. Stetson will host North Florida for the final weekend of ASUN play while FIU will entertain Louisiana Tech for the last weekend of CUSA competition. Both teams will open play in their conference series on Thursday night needing to win to get into their respective league tournaments.
 
The Hatters come into Tuesday's game after having been swept in a series at Jacksonville over the weekend. Stetson scored just two runs in that series and has scored a total of three runs in its last four games.
 
FIU took two of three from Middle Tennessee last weekend.
 
The Hatters will send freshman Bret Neilan (1-5, 6.59) to the mound to start tonight. He will be opposed by FIU sophomore Steven Casey (0-0, 8.18), who has appeared in just nine games this year, working a total of 11 innings on the mound.
 
Stetson senior Jacob Koos enters play tonight needing three hits to move into the career top 20. He currently has 223 hits in his career. Koos is also two runs scored away from 150 in his career.
 
Koos and the Hatters other four senior players – Baylen Sparks, Bruce Martin, Vlad Nunez and Jeremy Orbik – will be honored in Senior Day ceremonies on Friday night at Melching Field.
 
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.