Jacksonville, Fla. - Perhaps no other opponent in recent years has produced as many heated moments on the diamond in the ASUN as the rivalry between Stetson and Jacksonville.
 
Those two oldest rivals in the league will get together for the first time this spring tonight at John Sessions Stadium. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and will be broadcast over the Jacksonville Athletics YouTube channel.
 
The series will continue on Friday night at 7 p.m. with the weekend finale scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
 
It is the first of two scheduled weekend series between the programs this year, with an additional single game slated to be played during the ASUN Divisional cross-over weekend, April 16-18 in DeLand.
 
The Hatters and Dolphins have enjoyed a heated rivalry since the first meeting between the programs in 1958. Stetson enters the 2021 season series with a 91-86-2 series lead.
 
With 179 total games played, Jacksonville is the Hatters' second most frequently played opponent. The only program Stetson has played more is Rollins College with 197 all-time games. Stetson has not played against Rollins since the 1993 season.
 
The last time the Hatters and Dolphins played was an epic, 16-inning, contest in the 2019 ASUN Tournament. Stetson scored five runs in the top of the 16th inning with Eric Foggo driving home the go-ahead run. That game will always be remembered for the pitching performance turned in by Chris Gonzalez, who worked 11 innings, allowing one run on two hits.
 
Jacksonville's Austin Temple was almost as good, working 10 innings for the Dolphins, allowing one run on five hits. That game came just two weeks after JU completed a three-game sweep of the Hatters, holding Stetson to just two runs total in those three games.
 
Stetson and JU also played a 16-inning game on May 20, 2015, in the ASUN Tournament in Ft. Myers. In addition to playing 16 innings, that game including a two-and-a-half-hour delay for lightning. Cory Reid hit a two-run walk-off homer in the 16th to give Stetson the win.
 
The Hatters' rotation for the weekend series will open with RH Nick Durgin (4-1, 3.03) on the hill tonight. He will be opposed by redshirt senior RHP Tyler Santana (3-3, 3.26). Santana has two career starts against the Hatters, going 7.2 innings in both games. He blanked the Hatters on seven hits with eight strikeouts in a 13-0 JU win in 2019, but surrendered six runs on nine hits in a 9-8 Hatters win in 2018.
 
Durgin has been strong in each of his last four starts. Included in that stretch was eight-innings of no-hit pitching against Alabama on March 12 that earned Durgin ASUN Pitcher of the Week honors. Last week he went eight innings against FGCU with a career-high 14 strikeouts, a performance that earned him national Pitcher of the Week honors from Collegiate Baseball.
 
Stetson will send redshirt junior LHP Chris Gonzalez (2-1, 5.85) to the mound on Friday where he will face redshirt sophomore RHP Mason Adams (1-1, 3.33). Gonzalez has two career starts against JU, working a total of 15 innings while allowing eight runs, six earned, on 14 hits with 10 strikeouts.
 
He will be looking to bounce back from consecutive sub-par performances in his last two starts. He allowed 15 total earned runs in eight combined innings of work against Wichita State and FGCU.
 
Saturday's series finale will feature Stetson redshirt sophomore RHP Bret Neilan (1-1, 4.76) most likely against redshirt senior LHP Jagger McCoy (0-2, 7.16), who has pitched twice against Stetson in his career, working 6.2 innings while allowing three runs on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Neilan has never pitched against JU.
 
Offensively, the Hatters posted a .330 team batting average last weekend in taking the series from FGCU. Hernen Sardinas led the way, hitting .636 in that series with a double, a home run and five RBI. He was named co-Player of the Week in the ASUN for his efforts.
 
Stetson's veterans have all enjoyed some levels of success in their careers against Jacksonville. Kyle Ball leads the way, hitting .435 (10-for-23) against JU with a triple and two RBI. Andrew MacNeil has hit .280 (7-for-25) in his career against the Dolphins with a pair of doubles and two RBI. Eric Foggo has hit .241 in games against JU (7-for-29) with four RBI. Mr. Clutch for the Hatters, Jorge Arenas, has 10 hits against JU in his career, including four doubles, and has driven in nine runs.
 
Arenas enters play this weekend just four hits away from 200 in his career and he is 10 total bases shy of 300 in his career.
 
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.