FSU Baseball Preview: Noles Hit The Road to Face NC State
By Ty Ragans
FSU baseball is coming off two much needed wins in the midweek. The Noles will look to keep the momentum going on the road at NC State this weekend.
FSU baseball entered the week desperate for wins and they were able to manage two close ones against No. 20 Florida Gulf Coast. The Noles will be happy with their two midweek wins, but now is not the time to slow down.
FSU will look to continue their current win streak when they head to Raleigh, NC on Friday to take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack in a three game weekend series.
Last Time Out
FSU took both games against Florida Gulf Coast in the midweek, claiming the season series against the Eagles. Tuesday’s win was a back and forth game with five lead changes; the Noles won 7-6 in walk-off fashion from a Jackson Lueck double.
On Wednesday the Noles took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth via a Dylan Busby RBI single. FGCU worked the bases loaded in the top of the fifth before freshman Grant Stewart came up with a big strike out to end the inning. Immediately after the strikeout a storm rolled in causing the umpires to call the game. Since the losing team came to the plate five times, it was considered an official game and an FSU win.
The two wins brought FSU’s record to 20-11 on the season, the Noles are 6-6 in the ACC.
Box scores for both games: Tuesday, Wednesday.
Opponent Preview
FSU will head north to Raleigh this weekend to take on the Wolfpack of NC State. Like FSU, the Wolfpack have not lived up to their pre-season expectations. NC State checked in at number six in the d1baseball pre-season top 25. A disappointing 18-16 (5-7 in the ACC) record has seen the Wolfpack fall completely out of the poll.
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NC State enters the match up with FSU carrying a .264 batting average as a team with a .349 team on base percentage and a .420 team slugging percentage.
The Wolfpack’s top hitter is freshman catcher Brad Debo who carries a slash line of .374/.404/.527. Right behind Debo is junior center fielder Josh McLain whose slash line reads .356/.389/.534.The rest of NC State’s offensive statistics can be found here.
On the season NC State carries a team fielding percentage of .978. The Wolfpack have committed 26 errors in 30 games.
The Friday starter for the Wolfpack is senior lefty Sean Adler. On the season Adler has a record of 3-3 and an ERA of 3.75. In 36 innings, Adler has allowed 31 hits while striking out 34 and walking 15.
The Noles will face another southpaw in game two, junior Brian Brown. Brown comes into the weekend with no record even though he’s started four games. Brian Brown’s ERA is 3.24 and he’s allowed 16 hits in 16.2 innings while striking out 12 and walking 11.
On Sunday FSU will likely face right handed freshman, Michael Bienlien. On the season Bienlien is 1-1 in two starts with a 4.45 ERA. The freshman has 23 strike outs and nine walks in 28.1 innings.
How To Watch
All three games this weekend will be streamed on ACC Network Extra. You can listen to the call of the game on 106.1 locally or nation wide through the FSU Gameday app. First pitch for Friday and Saturday are scheduled for 6:30 PM. Sunday’s game is set to start at 1:00.