The Stetson baseball team will make the short trip from Melching Field over to Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Wednesday for the Hatters' only scheduled game this season against Volusia County rival Bethune-Cookman.
 
The game against the Wildcats (5-7) opens a busy stretch of non-conference play for Stetson (8-2) with 10 games in 14 days before opening ASUN Conference play against North Alabama on March 20.
 
Stetson leads the all-time series against Bethune-Cookman 78-21 and the Hatters have won nine of the last 12 meetings. Games in Daytona are often hard-fought contests. The Hatters lead the series in games played there 26-14, but it was the Wildcats that took a win the last time the teams met there.
 
Bethune-Cookman got a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning by Josten Heron last March 20 to take a 3-2 victory.
 
Chris Gonzalez (0-2, 6.75) was the starting pitcher in that game for Stetson and the junior left-hander will get the call again on Wednesday. Gonzalez is coming off the worst start of his career last Friday when he retired just four batters against UMBC, allowing seven runs on seven hits.
 
Against Bethune-Cookman last year Gonzalez worked 4.1 innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits with three strikeouts.
 
He will be opposed by freshman right-hander Nolan Santos (0-1, 6.75) who will be making his second start for the Wildcats. If Bethune-Cookman coach Jonathan Hernandez employs the same strategy from that game last year, Santos will be the first of several Wildcats hurlers to see action in the game. In the game last year B-CU used eight different pitchers, with the first seven getting an inning each before Brandon Wilkes worked the final two innings and got the win.
 
Stetson comes into the game hitting .294 as a team with redshirt freshman Brandon Hylton leading the way. Hylton is hitting .452 on the year and is riding a nine-game hit streak, which was extended on Sunday despite Hylton not getting a hit in the series finale against UMBC. He walked in his only plate appearance, which allowed the streak to continue.
 
Juniors Eric Foggo (.385) and Jake Murphy (.357) are also hitting well. Foggo hit his third homer of the year on Sunday after delivering a walk-off single to give the Hatters an 8-7 win on Saturday. It was the second walk-off win for Stetson in the first 10 games of the year.
 
Senior catcher Chase DeBonis leads the Wildcats with a .313 batting average this year. B-CU is coming off a 9-1 victory over FGCU on Sunday, snapping a five-game losing skid.
 
The Hatters will be back home at Melching Field on Friday for the start of the 2020 Stetson Invitational Tournament. The event features Ohio State (3-6), Harvard (0-3) and Fairfield (0-6) in a round-robin tournament.
 
Play will begin on Friday at 12:30 p.m. when Harvard and Fairfield square off. Stetson will face Ohio State at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Saturday will begin with the Buckeyes facing Harvard at 12:30 before the Hatters play Fairfield at 6:30. Sunday's final day of play will begin at 1 p.m. when Stetson plays Harvard. Ohio State and Fairfield will square off in the final game of the event Sunday evening with the first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
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.