FSU Baseball: NCAA Finally Smart in Not Pairing Noles, Gators For Supers

FSU baseball still has to get through the Tallahassee Regional this weekend, but can rest easy knowing there will be no rematch with the Gators after.

As the selection show continued Monday for the NCAA Baseball Tournament, you just had a fear in the back of your mind that it was going to happen again. FSU baseball, who went from outsiders to a regional host after a hot end to the year, was going to be paired with the hated rival Florida Gators so that the teams would meet in the Super Regional round if they got that far.

And then, relief. The Seminoles ended up being paired with the No. 5 national seed Texas Tech should they advance past this weekend’s regional round. After two seasons of the NCAA putting together the two rivals for the sake of “saving money” with a reduction of travel costs, Florida State will get to see fresh blood should they move on.

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Those who wear those God awful colors of orange and blue are going to say FSU baseball fans are happy the road to Omaha doesn’t go through Gainesville because of the recent shortcomings against UF (a 5-18 record since the 2012 season) – and that would be the furthest thing from the truth.

The fact of the matter is that college baseball is better when the best teams and traditional programs can get to the next level – the College World Series. When programs like Florida State, LSU, Texas and yes even Miami and Florida are at their levels, the sport dominates.

When teams are knocking themselves out in the Super Regional round, it takes some of the luster off of things. So, having both teams getting a chance to make it to Omaha – where a meeting wouldn’t take place until the championship series – is in the best interest of the sport.

On the flip side of that, FSU baseball has much more success against the other three teams in the Gainesville regional (16-4 vs. USF, 5-0 vs. Bethune Cookman and 2-0 vs. Marist) as opposed to the four teams playing in Lubbock this weekend (1-1 vs. Texas Tech, 5-8 vs. Arizona and 1-1 vs. Delaware with no games vs. Sam Houston St.)

Related Story: FSU Finds Out Opponents For Tallahassee Regional

The funny part of it all? FSU baseball likely played themselves out of the Gainesville regional with a  6-0 record over the last two weeks. Being seeded with Texas Tech means the Seminoles essentially enter the tournament as the No. 12 seed. Lose one game against Louisville or the ACC title game vs UNC…and it might have been Gainesville all over again.