Miami, Fla. – After losing out on two chances to face off against FIU over the weekend, the Stetson Hatters will finally get an opportunity to play the Panthers tonight, at the FIU Baseball Stadium.
The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and will be available on CUSA.TV, which is a pay service through Conference USA.
Stetson and FIU are long-time baseball rivals going back to 1975. The programs spent time together as members of the ASUN until FIU left to join the Sun Belt Conference in 1999. After a 10-year hiatus in the series, the programs began playing again in 2009 and have been regular non-conference foes since.
Overall, Stetson leads the all-time series 64-42, including each of the four games played during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The Hatters have won three straight against the Panthers on their home field.
Both teams are coming off two games against Wichita State over the weekend in DeLand. FIU (8-8) defeated the Shockers twice, winning 11-2 on Friday afternoon and 9-2 on Sunday. Stetson (13-7) split a pair of games against Wichita State, winning 9-4 on Friday before falling 11-8 on Saturday.
Tonight's game will be the first of four games on the schedule between the Hatters and Panthers for the rest of the season. FIU will make a return trip to DeLand on April 13 when the teams will play a double-header to make up for one of the games lost over the weekend. Stetson will make a second trip to Miami the following week for a Wednesday night game (April 21).
Freshman left-hander
Anthony DeFabbia (2-0, 3.98) will get the start for Stetson tonight, but he is not expected to work very long. He will be on a pitch limit and will throw no more than two or three innings before turning the game over to the pen.
Expect to see sophomore
Joshua Plummer get a chance to throw in the game as well. The Tennessee transfer had been slated to start against FIU on Saturday.
The Panthers are expected to counter with freshman RHP Matt Fernandez on Tuesday. The start will be the first appearance of his collegiate career.
The Hatters will continue to be without several players, including leading hitter
Banks Griffith, for tonight's game, but Stetson may see the return of redshirt freshman
Brandon Hylton, who has been out of action since the series at Alabama when he was involved in a collision at first base.
Graduates
Andrew MacNeil and
Hernen Sardinas continue to swing hot bats for Stetson. In the two games against Wichita State MacNeil was 3-for-7 with three runs scored and three RBI. Sardinas was held without a hit in the opening game, but bounced back with two hits and three RBI on Saturday.
For several Hatters, including Sardinas, the game will be a homecoming. Other Miami natives who made the trip south for the game are
Jorge Arenas,
Danny Martin,
Jonathan Gonzalez and Jonathan Valezquez.
Senior Juan Teixeira leads FIU with a .383 batting average after going 5-for-10 over the weekend.
Like Stetson, FIU opens conference play this coming weekend with a four-game series at Old Dominion. The Hatters will host Florida Gulf Coast for a three-game series at Melching Field starting Friday night.
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.
