DELAND, Fla. - With just two weeks remaining in the ASUN Conference Softball regular season, the number of postseason spots will begin to shrink more each day and with Stetson taking on Kennesaw State this weekend in a three-game set at Patricia Wilson Field, the Hatters have a great opportunity to increase their chances of making the tournament. The Hatters and Owls will play twice on Saturday, with starting times moved up an hour early due to impending weather. First pitch is now set for Noon and 2 pm, while Sunday's 1 pm contest will be preceded by Senior Day festivities.

Liberty and North Florida are the only schools to already clinch a postseason berth, which leaves six remaining. Stetson enters the weekend with a 9-9 record and is currently in third place in the East Division. Just behind the Hatters are Jacksonville, at 8-10, and the Owls, who come to town with a 6-12 ASUN mark. The top three teams in the division advance to the ASUN Championship, while the last two spots are determined by cross-divisional comparisons.

ASUN SOFTBALL INFO: Schedule | Standings | Statistics

Kennesaw State Owls (15-26, 6-12 ASUN) 
Last Three Games: W, 6-2 at Georgia State | L, 10-3 vs. FGCU* | W, 4-2 vs. FGCU*

• KSU wraps up its road conference games this weekend with a trip to the Sunshine State; the Owls have won three of their last four including a series last weekend against Florida Gulf Coast, but are just 3-17 on the road this season; KSU leads the all-time series over the Hatters, 24-15
• Taylor Cates' 8.10 slugging percentage ranks first in the league and 29th in the nation as she has racked up 48 hits, 14 home runs and 12 doubles this season; Cates' 35 RBI rank seventh in the ASUN and has crossed the plate 30 more times
• Three other Owls are batting over .300 with at least 15 RBI in Brinaya Bailey (.306/22), Faith Alexander (.302/15) and Cheyanne Sales (.301/18), while Sales is second in slugging percentage (.602) which includes seven doubles and six home runs.
• Owls' ace Melanie Bennett has posted 11 victories in 30 appearances and 15 complete-game efforts; Bennett's 149.2 innings of work are the second-most in the league this season as she has also piled up 136 strikeouts to sit third in the conference

Stetson Hatters (20-29, 9-9 ASUN)
Last Three Games: L, 5-0 at No. 9 Florida | W, 5-3 vs. North Florida* | L, 7-3 vs. North Florida*

• Stetson has lost seven-of-eight, but still holds on to the third spot in the division; The Hatters own a 9-10 all-time record against Kennesaw State at Patricia Wilson Field; The last series played here (April 13-14, 2019), KSU won 2-1, but just eight runs were scored in the three games. Stetson won Game 1, 1-0, then lost the next two, 3-2 and 2-0. The only game played since was last year's contest in Kennesaw, Georgia, won by the Hatters, 7-6, on April 11.
• Brianna Clary ranks sixth in the league with 51 hits on the season, leading the team with a .321 batting average while Danielle Diaz (.317) and Haley Fox (.306) are both hitting above the .300 line in the Hatter lineup
• As a team, Stetson has hit 30 home runs, with five accounting for 26 of them - Lizzie Shubert and Jordyn Stanfill (6), Marissa Baxter and Juls Schumacher (5), and Evette Morgan (4).
• Lauren Hobbs boasts a 2.61 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 131.1 innings with eight victories on the season; Lauren Klein matches Hobbs with a team-best eight victories on the season, with seven complete-game efforts and two shutouts credited to her name

Sunday's Senior Day events will begin approximately 20 minutes prior to first pitch as the team will honor five members of the program - Canaan Burnett, Diaz, Kara Saylor, Shubert and Jaime Tino.

All games this weekend can be seen on YouTube+ or can be followed along through live stats. Links are provided on the Hatters' 2022 schedule page.

portions of this release courtesy of ASUN
 

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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 (PDF).

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