Second-year Stetson baseball head coach Steve Trimper has unveiled an impressive 2018 schedule, one which features games with Florida State, Miami, UCF and Maryland among others.
Stetson opens the 2018 season with 21 consecutive home games and hosts a total of 35 contests at Melching Field at Conrad Park.
Throughout the season – both home and away – the Hatters will be challenged by some of the best programs in the country. Stetson is scheduled to play a total of 23 games against teams which finished the 2017 campaign in the Top 100 of the RPI, including 14 games against the Top 50.
“I think we have a very competitive schedule,” Trimper said. “Some of the teams we have early on are really going to challenge us, even though we’re at home. Overall, my scheduling goal is to try and increase the level of teams we’re playing for RPI purposes so that we don’t have to win the ASUN Tournament to reach regionals.”
FSU (8), USF (23), UCF (26), Florida Gulf Coast (35), Miami (43), Maryland (44), Bethune-Cookman (61),
Jacksonville (63), Rhode Island (68) and FIU (86) all finished among the nation’s top 100 teams last season, and all dot the Hatters’ 2018 slate.
The potential strength of Stetson’s 2018 schedule is not an accident.
“I think it’s an upgrade over what we’ve done the last few years and that’s a trend we want to continue,” Trimper said. “I want to go into a season knowing that we don’t have to win the conference tournament to get to NCAA Regionals. I want to try to have another avenue of getting to the postseason aside from just winning the ASUN Tournament.”
Stetson opens the 2018 season with a three-game series against Manhattan, Feb. 18-20. Trimper coached the Jaspers from 1999-2005, earning MAAC Coach of the Year honors in 2002.
Following a midweek game against UCF (Feb. 20), the Hatters close out February with a three-game series against George Washington (Feb. 23-26).
Central Michigan, Purdue and Virginia Tech make up the field for the Westin Lake Mary Stetson Invitational (March 2-4).
March weekend home opponents include Richmond (9-11) and Rhode Island (16-18). The series with the Rams is a four-game set which includes a doubleheader on March 17.
Midweek games with Wagner (March 7), Army (March 13-14) and FIU (March 21) close out a stretch of 21 straight home games to open the year before the Hatters visit 2017 NCAA Regional participant Maryland for a three-game series, March 23-25.
After a road game at USF, the Hatters will spend Easter weekend (March 29-31) at home against Volusia County rival Bethune-Cookman in what will be the first weekend series between the two. Trimper said simple need is what led to the rare match-up.
“It’s Easter weekend and we both had a conference ‘bye’ and were both struggling to find a team to come down and play, so we just decided to play each other,” he said. “It worked out perfectly.”
ASUN Conference play opens the following weekend when the Hatters visit Kennesaw State (April 6-8). Lipscomb will serve as Stetson’s ASUN home-opener the following weekend (April 13-15).
After the Lipscomb series, the Hatters will head to the state capital for a two-game midweek series with Florida State (April 17-18). The Seminoles will return the trip with a single game in DeLand on April 24.
Once finals are over the Hatters will stay on the road for an extended period when they visit defending ASUN champion FGCU (May 11-13) and follow up that series by making the drive across “Alligator Alley” for a midweek game with the Miami Hurricanes (May 15), closing out Stetson’s treacherous and challenging non-conference schedule.
“I don’t think we’re ever going to try and schedule light,” Trimper said. “If we can’t earn it, then what’s the point of shooting for regionals? As a staff and a program I want us to believe we can compete on a national level every single year.”
The Hatters close out the regular season when they host USC Upstate (May 17-19) in the final ASUN series of the year. The 2018 ASUN Tournament is set for May 23-26 at North Florida’s Harmon Stadium in Jacksonville.
