DELAND, Fla. — Jacksonville Baseball will make the trip to Melching Field at Conrad Park this weekend for a potential postseason-clinching series. With two wins, the Dolphins would return to DeLand for the ASUN Championship on May 19.
Jacksonville leads the season series 2-1 after winning the Thursday and Friday matchups at John Sessions Stadium on Easter weekend. JU enters the weekend in third place in the ASUN Graphite Division with a 13-11 conference mark, while Stetson sits fifth at 11-16 in league play.
Series Schedule
Game 1 – Friday, May 8
Time: 6:30 PM |
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Game 2 – Saturday, May 9
Time: 6:30 PM |
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Game 3 – Sunday, May 10
Time: 1:00 PM |
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Scouting the Hatters
Since its series finale loss at John Sessions Stadium earlier this season, Stetson has gone 6-10 overall. The stretch includes ASUN series losses to Queens, North Florida, and FGCU, along with a conference sweep of West Georgia and a 15-2 midweek win over a strong Bethune-Cookman squad.
Samuel Fernandez was Stetson's most productive hitter in the earlier series, going 4-for-12 at the plate, including a two-home run performance in game two. He is coming off a pair of multi-hit games against FGCU and Bethune-Cookman. The freshman is hitting .242 and leads the team with seven home runs.
Juan De La Cruz paces the Hatters offensively, leading the team with a .315 batting average among eligible hitters.
Landon Russell is the everyday shortstop, totaling 31 RBI and a team-leading 53 hits.
Yohann Dessureault added a double in the previous meeting and recently carried an 11-game hitting streak into this week. He typically hits in the middle of the order as the designated hitter.
Where the Dolphins Stand
The series win over Stetson sparked a stretch in which the Dolphins flipped their season, going 13-5 over their last 18 games. During that span, the 'Phins defeated three ranked opponents, swept two ASUN series, and won four conference series overall.
Roger Vergara's .340 batting average leads the team and ranks eighth in the ASUN. He has recorded a hit in 81 percent of games this season, including 19 of 24 conference contests. A consistent presence at the plate, he has totaled 16 multi-hit games.
Sammy Mummau recently saw his 14-game hitting streak come to an end but has settled into the leadoff spot in the lineup. The everyday shortstop is hitting .294, second-best on the team.
Logan Baratta has posted two multi-hit games in his last four and continues to trend upward. As a team, the Dolphins are hitting .269 with 73 doubles and 33 home runs. They will look to reignite the offense in this pivotal three-game series in DeLand.
Expected Weekend Pitchers
Friday: LHP Alex Walsh (6-3, 4.53 ERA, 57 K) vs. RHP James Hays (3-3, 4.50 ERA, 70 K)
The last time these two matched up came in Jacksonville's 4-3 series-clinching win in game two, with both tossing six innings. Walsh earned the win, striking out eight while allowing four hits and two earned runs. Hays also went six innings, giving up three earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts.
Saturday: LHP Brendan Holland (4-4, 3.52 ERA, 67 K) vs. LHP Trace Hartman (3-5, 4.94 ERA, 39 K)
he southpaws previously faced off in Stetson's game three win in Jacksonville. Holland delivered six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, allowing just two hits. Hartman walked three but struck out five across 5.2 shutout innings to earn the win in the series finale.
Sunday: To be determined, with both coaching staffs expected to make game-time decisions based on the state of the series.
