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FSU Baseball Preview: Noles Close Out Regular Season at Louisville

By Ty Ragans

May 8, 2017; Baltimore, MD, USA; A Rawlings baseball, the Official Ball of Major League Baseball, sits on the field before a game between Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Patrick McDermott-USA TODAY Sports
May 8, 2017; Baltimore, MD, USA; A Rawlings baseball, the Official Ball of Major League Baseball, sits on the field before a game between Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Patrick McDermott-USA TODAY Sports /
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FSU baseball has fallen short of program standards in 2017. This weekend they’ll finish the regular season with their toughest test yet, at Louisville.

FSU baseball has played an exceptionally difficult schedule in 2017. According to d1baseball.com The Noles strength of schedule sits at number six nationally.

The difficulty of the schedule is no reason to excuse the massive disappointment the 2017 season has been. Projected by many in the preseason to win the ACC and snag a national seed, FSU has been nowhere near that caliber of ball club. The Noles are just 33-20 on the season and an ugly 12-14 in the ACC.

Despite the difficult schedule, the Noles have yet to face their toughest test this season. That test will come this weekend when FSU travels to Louisville to take on the 2nd ranked Cardinals.

Last Time Out

Last weekend we saw the Noles drop two of three games at home in a series loss to Wake Forest. Each loss was by just one run. Great teams find a way to win the close conference games and FSU came up short against Wake.

In game one the Noles fell behind early before the game was suspended in the bottom of the fifth with Wake holding a 4-2 lead. The game resumed the next day and FSU did a great job of shutting down Wake’s powerful offense. However, FSU was only able to score one more run and the game finished as a 4-3 defeat.

In game two, Tyler Holton had his best stuff and absolutely dominated for the Noles on the mound. FSU scored four runs in the first and it was all they would need. Holton pitched a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits (all singles), no walks, and he struck out nine on the way to a 4-0 victory.

The rubber match was a back and forth battle between two high-powered offenses. The Noles were going toe-to-toe with Wake’s offense in a slug fest, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t enough. Wake took Sunday’s game by a score of 10-9, resulting in a big series victory for the Deacs.

Opponent Preview

FSU baseball has faced a slew of great opponents this year. Florida, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Clemson immediately come to mind. None of those teams have the resume that Louisville does though. The Cardinals own an overall record of 46-7, 23-4 in the ACC. D1baseball.com ranks Louisville as the number two team in the country and the Cards come in at number three in the RPI. Louisville is coming off an impressive sweep on the road against Clemson. FSU will have their hands full this weekend.

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Offense

Jim Patterson Stadium has been a fortress for the Cards in 2017; Louisville is 29-2 at home this season. With a record like they have, one could guess that Louisville has a very balanced team. On offense the Cards carry a team slash line of .292/.391/.467. Louisville has a lot of power in their lineup with 60 home runs in 53 games this season. The Cards have attempted 98 steals and have been successful in 77 of those attempts.

Louisville’s top hitter is junior infielder, Drew Ellis. Ellis carries a slash line of .398/.491/.747 and has hit 15 homers while racking up 48 RBI. Just behind Ellis is do- it-all pitcher/1B Brendan McKay. McKay’s numbers at the plate are impressive with a .366/.484/.691 slash line to go with 15 home runs and 46 RBI.

Pitching and Defense

Louisville’s ace is Brendan McKay, and as good as McKay is at the plate, he might be better on the mound. McKay is projected to be a top draft pick and many believe it will be as a pitcher. FSU had great success against McKay last season. The Noles touched him up for 10 hits and three runs in just four innings. This season McKay carries an 8-3 record with an ERA of 1.80; the big lefty has pitched 80 innings and allowed just 46 hits while recording 110 K’s to 23 walks.

In game two, junior right hander Kade McClure will take the mound for Louisville. McClure is 7-1 with a 3.27 ERA. In 74.1 innings McClure has allowed 61 hits while accumulating 78 K’s to 26 walks.

In game three it will be freshman lefty Nick Bennett taking the hill for Louisville. The 6’4 southpaw is 5-0 on the season with a 2.47 ERA. Bennett has pitched 58 innings and allowed 49 hits while striking out 55 and walking 12.

Louisville has a team fielding percentage of .977. The Cards have committed 45 errors in their 53 games.

How to Watch

Unlike most weekend series, these three games will be played Thursday through Saturday. Thursday and Friday’s games start at 6:00 PM and can be seen on ACC Network Extra. Saturday’s finale will start at 7:30 and be shown on ESPNU. The radio broadcast for all three games can be found locally on 106.1 FM and nation-wide on the FSU Game Day app.

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