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FSU Baseball 2018 ACC Tourney Preview: Finals vs. Louisville

By Jason Parker

CLEARWATER, FL - FEBRUARY 24: Infielder Justin Gonzalez #10 of the Florida State Seminoles runs to second base against the Philadelphia Phillies February 24, 2011 at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
CLEARWATER, FL - FEBRUARY 24: Infielder Justin Gonzalez #10 of the Florida State Seminoles runs to second base against the Philadelphia Phillies February 24, 2011 at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /
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Here’s a preview of FSU baseball and their next set of games during the 2018 baseball season.

For the fourth straight season, the FSU baseball team will be playing through the end of the ACC Tournament as the Seminoles got yet another win over a ranked opponent that was not just a big win for being able to play for a third conference championship in the last four seasons – but also for the chances of being a national seed for the NCAA tournament starting next weekend.

But before that point, the Noles will head to the field Sunday in Durham against another ranked foe that they played once this season as head coach Mike Martin and his team look to cement their place as one of the top teams in the country heading into the postseason.

Here’s our preview of this weekend’s game between the Seminoles and their title game opponent in the ACC tournament.

The Last Time The ‘Noles Took The Field

After winning their two games in pool play, the Seminoles face a Clemson team who defeated them two out of three games earlier this season – with the win being the one that made Martin the all time leader in wins.

The action started when Drew Mendoza knocked a two run homer out of the park in the second inning – but Cole Sands, who struck out 11 in six innings, gave up a three run home and the lead in the fourth inning. FSU baseball would tie the game at three in the seventh inning and at four in the following inning on a homer by Jackson Lueck.

In the ninth inning, Lueck again crossed home plate when Rhett Aplin brought him in on a single. With the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the inning for Clemson, C.J. Van Eyk struck out the Tigers’ final chance and the Seminoles advanced to play another day.

Opponent Preview

FSU baseball will face another ranked team on Sunday when they take on No. 24 Louisville for the right to get the automatic seed into the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals won their pool play group by defeating Wake Forest and Duke before taking out the upstart team of the tournament, Pittsburgh, to advance to the title game for the first time since joining the ACC.

The Seminoles hosted the Cardinals for a three game series earlier this season, with Florida State getting two wins before Louisville got a Saturday win to avoid the sweep. All-time, the Noles have a 27-6 series advantage over the Cardinals that includes two wins in the ACC Tournament in 2015 and last season.

Interesting Fact

Though other teams have been in the conference longer, FSU baseball has been the team to beat in the postseason tournament for much of their quarter century playing in the ACC. The Seminoles have the highest winning percentage of any team while a win would give them their eighth tournament title – just one behind Georgia Tech for second place and two behind Clemson for the top spot overall.

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