GAME DAY INFORMATION
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DATE: March 6, 2024
TIME: Wednesday: 6:30 PM
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LOCATION: Foley Field
Athens, Ga. |
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GAME DAY LINK
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LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
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THE LEAD
The Stetson University baseball team will hit the road for the first time during the 2024 campaign as they come off a 4-1 week that saw an upset win over #4 Florida and a 3-1 series win over Brown University. The Hatters, now 8-4 on the year, head to the Peach State to take on the Georgia Bulldogs at Foley Field in Athens, Ga. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM on Wednesday with all the action streaming on ESPN+ and SEC+ with live stats available at www.georgiadogs.com.
INSIDE THE SERIES
The two programs have met 14 times prior to the midweek match-up. The Hatters trail in the overall series 6-8 and while they own a 5-3 record at home, they trail 1-5 on the road. They enter the game on a three-game win streak over the Bulldogs, having swept them in a series back on Feb. 18-20, 2011. The series dates all the way back to March 20, 1939 when the Hatters took the inaugural game 8-5. Across their 14 previous meetings, the Hatters have totaled 66 runs, 4.71 runs per game on average.
SCOUTING THE HATTERS (8-4, 0-0 ASUN)
Stetson approaches the week day match-up coming off a 3-1 series win over Brown which was capped off by a dominant 14-2 run rule win.
Anthony DeFabbia earned a pair of wins during the week, including victories over the Gators and Brown University. He pitched a total of 10.2 innings, including a complete game performance against Brown University in the second of a seven-inning doubleheader on Saturday. The senior southpaw was awarded ASUN Pitcher of the Week for his efforts, the first Hatter to win an award this season.
The Hatters are no strangers to the SEC, having upset the #4 Florida Gators 7-4 in front of a sellout crowd last Tuesday. Ty Van Dyke got the starting nod that game and recorded eight strikeouts in a no-decision.
Gio Cueto saw his nine-game RBI streak get snapped during Saturday's double-header against Brown but the junior catcher still maintains a team-leading .368 batting average, going 14 of 38 to start the season, six of which have been doubles. Cueto has driven in a team-high 16 RBIs while he's been plated 11 times himself.
Freshman outfielder Kyle Jones leads the team with a .520 OB% as he went 2 for 4 with an RBI double on Sunday. He is batting .351 with four extra base hits and four runs batted in.
Yohann Dessureault saw his average rise to .350 after an explosive weekend series. The junior second baseman went a perfect 3 for 3 on Sunday after he belted a pair of homeruns in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. He now leads the team with four homers and a .750 SLG% while plating 13 runs.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS (11-1, 0-0 SEC)
Georgia boasts an NCAA-leading 30 home runs and .672 slugging percentage plus is seventh in on base percentage at .466. Nine Bulldogs have hit home runs with All-America 3B/1B/OF Charlie Condon leading the way with eight. On Monday, Condon was named the Dick Howser Trophy National Player of the Month for February, it was announced by the NCBWA. Currently, Condon is batting .568-8-15. He ranks third in batting average and second in slugging percentage (1.273).
Georgia has won big (three run-rule games) while its only loss was a run-rule game. The Bulldogs have rallied twice in the ninth for comeback victories with four total Walk-Offs counting run-rule games. This past Sunday at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, Georgia trailed Ga. Tech 9-3 going to the 7th and 9-8 in the 9th. They rallied for an 11-9 series-clinching win in front of a crowd of 8,163.
Following Tuesday's 7-2 road win over Georgia Southern, the Bulldogs return home with a 11-1 record and a three-game win streak. Georgia was projected to finish fifth in the Eastern Division of the SEC with 48 points.
NEXT UP
Stetson will return home to Melching Field at Conrad Park in DeLand, Fla. for a four-game series with Bradley University. The weekend will start with Bark at the Park at 6:30 PM on Friday night.
