The Stetson baseball team will complete its first lap around the East Division of the ASUN Conference this weekend when the Hatters travel to Jacksonville with a three-game series with the Dolphins.
 
The series will get started on Thursday afternoon to allow the players and coaches the opportunity to spend Easter Sunday at home with their families. Game times on Thursday and Friday are set for 2 p.m. with Saturday's series finale scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
 
The opening game on Thursday will be broadcast on ESPN+ with the games on Friday and Saturday slated for broadcast on the JU Dolphins YouTube channel.
 
The Hatters (17-15) and Dolphins (16-14) enter the weekend tied with North Florida in the race for the ASUN Tournament. All three teams have 4-8 records in conference play so far this year. UNF will travel this weekend to play FGCU, which is tied for second in the division with Liberty behind front-runner Kennesaw State.
 
Stetson leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1958, 96-88-2. JU has the advantage at their home field, Sessions Stadium, with a 48-41 record there. Last year the Hatters swept the three-game series in Jacksonville, only to split the four games the teams played in DeLand.
 
Both teams have numerous players with extensive experience against the other. Stetson's Thursday starter, graduate left-hander Chris Gonzalez (0-2, 6.52), has thrown 25.1 total innings in his career against JU with mixed success. He threw 11 innings in one game, allowing a run on two hits, during the 2019 ASUN Tournament, but also allowed seven runs on 12 hits over 4.0 innings in a start against the Dolphins that same season. Overall, he has a 6.04 ERA with a 1-2 record and 12 strikeouts in games against JU.
 
Stetson's scheduled Friday starter, redshirt sophomore Nick Durgin (1-1, 3.70), has dominated in two starts against JU, throwing 15 shutout innings while allowing just five hits with 13 strikeouts. Six other Stetson hurlers (Austin Amaral, Anthony DeFabbia, Jonathan Gonzalez, Jonathan Velazquez, Bret Neilan and Saturday starter Cole Stallings) have combined to throw 16.2 innings against JU while allowing just 2 earned runs (1.08 ERA) with 15 Ks.
 
Offensively, Kyle Ball is the only Stetson player with an extensive record of success against JU. He has hit .372 (19-51) in his career against the Dolphins. Brandon Hylton got off to a good start last year, hitting .346 (9-26) with three doubles and six RBI.
 
JU's current pitching staff has combined to post an 8.30 career ERA against Stetson, having allowed 24 runs and 34 hits over 26.0 innings. That includes Thursday starter Mason Adams (4-0, 3.91) who has worked a total of 10.0 innings against Stetson, allowing 14 runs on 14 hits. JU's Saturday starter, Christian Graham (2-1, 3.67) had better success against Stetson last year, allowing two runs on eight hits over 8.0 innings.
 
Offensively, the current Dolphins have hit .173 against Stetson pitching. JU is hitting just .249 as a team this year but, like Stetson, when the Dolphins get on base they like to run, having swiped 56 bases in 69 attempts. Graduate Christian Coipel is the big threat in the JU lineup, having blasted seven homers this year with 31 RBI to his credit, but he is hitting just .226 overall.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS. Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision.