With their hopes of hosting an NCAA baseball regional now a reality, it's back to business for the Stetson Hatters.
Fresh off a four-game romp through the ASUN tournament, Stetson (45-11, 15-3) has the nightcap of the two opening day games at 7 p.m. Friday against Hartford. Head coach Steve Trimper has named right-hander Joey Gonzalez, the team's midweek mainstay, the starter.
Hartford is not the only hurdle standing between the Hatters and their path to the super regionals. South Florida and Oklahoma State will also descend upon DeLand, squaring off head to head at 1 p.m. Friday.
Here's a full analysis of Stetson's potential opponents in the DeLand Regional, with input from Trimper and writers who cover the other three programs.
No. 2 seed South Florida
HEAD COACH: Billy Mohl, second season
RECORD: 35-20-1 (14-9-1 American)
RPI: 18
KEY FACT: The Hatters hold an all-time record of 87-84 against South Florida, including a pair of midweek victories during the 2018 regular season. The teams have split two all-time NCAA tournament matchups.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: LHP Shane McClanahan (5-6, 3.41 ERA, 71.1 IP, 117 K, 44 BB), 3B David Villar (.379, 12 HR, 55 RBIs, 24 doubles, 52 runs), 1B Joe Genord (.317, 15 HR, 50 RBIs), RHP Peter Strzelecki (9-3, 3.81 ERA, 97 K, .242 BAA)
SCOUTING REPORT: "Though its left-handed ace McClanahan is almost certain to be drafted in the first round of the upcoming big-league draft, USF has been buoyed by a veteran offense. The Bulls are hitting .299 as a team, their best collective batting average in nine years. Leading the way is junior third baseman Villar, one of eight upperclassmen in the everyday lineup and another likely draftee next week. Genord has gone deep in three of the Bulls' last four games. By contrast, McClanahan hasn't been as steady as his offense, despite a high-90s fastball. Aside from an opening-night jewel against nationally ranked North Carolina (6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 11 K), McClanahan frequently has struggled with his location this season. Don't be shocked if senior Strzelecki gets the start in Friday's regional opener." — Joey Knight, The Tampa Bay Times
TRIMPER'S TAKE: "Scary team with a lot of offensive threats. Billy does a great job with that pitching staff. They've got some power arms. The team is built to go deep into a tournament, and they're going to be a formidable opponent. … They've got some speed at the bottom of the lineup, and power in the middle of the lineup. In order to beat them, and we were fortunate enough to do it the two times we played them, you've got to pitch extremely well. We've got to keep them off balance, get them to roll over stuff, jam them when we need to. If you're off your game, they will stomp you."
No. 3 seed Oklahoma State
HEAD COACH: Josh Holliday, sixth season
RECORD: 29-24-1 (16-8 in Big 12)
RPI: 41
KEY FACT: The Cowboys enter regionals on a significant slump, dropping nine of their last 10 games, including six in a row.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: C Colin Simpson (.281, 18 HR, 51 RBIs, .595 slug pct), SS Matt Kroon (.302, 11 HR, 37 RBIs, 16 SB), LHP Carson Teel (7-4, 4.56 ERA, 88 K, 34 BB), LF Jon Littell (.266, 7 HR, 39 RBIs), RHP Jensen Elliott (6.2 IP, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K)
SCOUTING REPORT: "OSU has essentially been three different teams this season: started the season rough (11-10-1, lost opening Big 12 series to Texas), went on a great run (16-4, swept four conference opponents), then slumped down the stretch (2-10, 9.00 team ERA in May, lost 2.5-game lead in Big 12 standings, two-and-out in conference tournament). … The Cowboys don't have a ton of pitching depth and are fairly dependent on youth and newcomers on both sides of the ball. What could have been their weekend rotation missed most of the year. Elliott just returned from Tommy John (surgery) as a reliever a couple of weeks ago, Parker Scott has missed the year recovering from Tommy John and Mitchell Stone hasn't pitched since breaking his foot." — Nathan Ruiz, The Oklahoman
TRIMPER'S TAKE: "It's a little bit of a different perspective because we don't see them a lot, not in our conference or our neck of the woods. Obviously it's a storied program. The one thing they are going to bring to this is experience. They've been in a lot of regionals, and Holliday has coached in a lot of regionals. … They're going to know how to win this tournament. They've struggled of late, but you know what happens sometimes with teams, you try to fight to get in the tournament, lose a little confidence. Once you make it, the pressure gets off and, poof, you explode."
No. 4 seed Hartford
HEAD COACH: Justin Blood, seventh season
RECORD: 26-29 (16-8 America East)
RPI: 150
KEY FACT: Set to make their NCAA tournament debut against Stetson on Friday, the Hawks are 7-23 away from home, including a 1-17 mark against non-conference opponents.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: LHP Nicholas Dombkowski (6-5, 2.73 ERA, 67 K, 85.2 IP), RHP Nathan Florence (4-5, 3.68 ERA, 87 K, 80.2 IP, .277 BAA), OF Nick Campana (.389, 10 HR, 39 RBIs, 21 SB, .472 OBP), OF Ashton Bardzell (.297, 10 HR, 40 RBIs, 3 3B), IF Drew DeMartino (.239, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, America East tournament MVP)
SCOUTING REPORT: "Blood is a pitching guru. As UConn's pitching coach, he developed Matt Barnes, Scott Oberg and Sean Newcomb; that's three MLB pitchers, and two first-round picks. Hartford's pitching is really good. Dombkowski, a freshman, lost 1-0 to UConn. I'm surprised he's not going the first game; Florence is. The Hawks were picked to finish last in America East, but won the regular-season title and the tournament. Two years ago, they had the tournament won but blew big leads in both games of a doubleheader to Binghamton. This year was their redemption. … They are a decent-hitting team for their level. UHart will really have to pitch to have a chance, but I'd consider them a more-dangerous-than-average 4 seed." — Dom Amore, The Hartford Courant
TRIMPER'S TAKE: "Of the teams we have in the bracket, I know them the most. At Maine, I had 11 seasons of seeing the Hartford Hawks. (Blood) has done a tremendous job of turning around their program. They were at the bottom of the barrel when he first got there, and he's turned them into a Northeast power. … They're going to be an opportunistic team. When you make an error, they're going to come right back with a hit-and-run and try to capitalize and put pressure on us. They won't be scared or bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; they'll be coming in here ready in compete."