It has come to the point of the college baseball season that every team understands. The pressure is a little higher. The intensity on the field is ratcheted up. Every pitch, every defensive play and every hit means a little more.
 
It is win or go home time in the ASUN and the Hatters find themselves right back at Harmon Stadium against a North Florida Ospreys squad that has, for the most part, had Stetson's number this year.
 
The teams open their best-of-three ASUN Divisional Play-In Series on Friday night, with the first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. The entire series will be broadcast on ESPN+ and there are a limited number of tickets available through the UNF ticket office for $10 each per game.
 
Three other Divisional Play-In Series will also take place this weekend, with the four prevailing teams advancing to the ASUN Tournament, which will be played right back at Harmon Stadium beginning on Thursday, May 27. The other three league series will see Lipscomb play at Kennesaw State, Liberty will host Bellarmine and Florida Gulf Coast will entertain Jacksonville.
 
The Hatters come into the weekend with a 26-21 overall record, but UNF has won five of the seven games between the teams this year. The Ospreys are 19-21 overall on the year.
 
Stetson has been forced to piece together its pitching over the final weeks of the season because of numerous losses within the pitching staff. Redshirt sophomore Danny Garcia, who is a candidate for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year award, will be on the mound to start Friday's series opener instead of in the bullpen looking to close the game.
 
Garcia (3-1, 3.51) has made just two starts in his career, including just one this year. He made that start back on May 8 against UNF, holding the Ospreys to just two runs on five hits over six innings. He last pitched on May 11 against Florida, throwing three shutout innings against the Gators to earn the victory.
 
The Ospreys will counter with an old friend, as graduate left-handed pitcher Austin Bogart (3-2, 3.29) will take the mound against his former teammates. Bogart is having the best season of his career from a pitching standpoint. In three seasons for Stetson, he was 0-5 with a 7.50 ERA in 22 appearances, including eight starts. He has thrown more innings for the Ospreys this year than he did in three combined seasons at Stetson.
 
In his two starts against Stetson this year, Bogart has worked 13.2 innings, allowing just two earned runs (four runs total) on 11 hits with two walks and nine strikeouts.
 
For the Hatters to have success against Bogart and the Ospreys, they will need to continue to get production from the top of the order. Graduate Andrew MacNeil comes into the weekend riding a 13-game hitting streak, despite hitting just .214 in the seven games against UNF. MacNeil has reached base to lead off games 22 times this year leads the ASUN in runs scored, ranking fifth in the nation with 59 runs this year.
 
The Hatters will also need to get Hernen Sardinas going. Stetson's first team All-ASUN standout has hit just .250 against UNF pitching. All-Freshman team standout Brandon Hylton has also struggled against UNF, posting a .179 average with 11 strikeouts. Getting those two bats going would give Stetson a big leg up in the series.
 
Stetson will also get redshirt freshman catcher Christian Pregent, another All-Freshman team selection, back for the series. He has been out of action for the last two weeks after taking a pair of foul tips off his mask in the last series with the Ospreys. He is hitting .400 against UNF this year. Kyle Ball has also hit the ball well against UNF pitching, batting .321 in the seven games this year while left-handed hitting outfielder Nick DiPonzio has hit a team-best .462, with five of his six hits coming against the Ospreys' right-handed pitchers.
 
UNF is led offensively by ASUN Player of the Year Alex Kachler, who leads the league with a .370 average. He has hit .333 in games against Stetson while second baseman Abraham Sequera (.345) and center fielder Blake Marabell (.292) have combined to hit five home runs and drive in 16 in the season series.
 
Despite UNF holding a 5-2 season lead in the series, the two teams have posted almost identical offensive stats. UNF has outscored Stetson 36-35 and both teams have 58 hits. Both teams have also struggled on defense, with nine Stetson errors resulting in six unearned UNF runs while the Hatters have scored 10 unearned runs off seven Osprey errors.
 
Following Friday's series opener, game two of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday. The third game in the series, if necessary, is slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday.
 
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.