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FSU Baseball: 3 observations through first four games

By Kelvin Hunt

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - AUGUST 4: Coach Mike Martin of the Florida State Seminoles throws out a ceremonial first pitch during pre-game ceremonies before play against the San Francisco Giants August 4, 2013 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays won 4 - 3. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - AUGUST 4: Coach Mike Martin of the Florida State Seminoles throws out a ceremonial first pitch during pre-game ceremonies before play against the San Francisco Giants August 4, 2013 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays won 4 - 3. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /
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FSU baseball has started the final season in the Mike Martin era in style. I look at three quick observations through four games.

FSU baseball (4-0) is highly ranked in most respected publications anywhere from No. 6 to No. 13 after its four game weekend sweep of the Maine Black Bears.

It’s exactly how things should have started against a team like Maine, but having the opener feature a combined no-hitter with a score of 11-0 was special in Mike Martin’s final season.

I wrote about three things the Noles need to improve upon to give Mike Martin an opportunity to win that elusive College World Series title last week.

I wanted to assess those things to get a quick look at things through the first four games.

  • Fielding/Defense
  • Runners Left On Base
  • Power

I’m pleasantly surprised at the ‘Noles start to the season on the defensive side of the ball. FSU baseball has averaged nearly an error or more per game the past two seasons. The defense has constantly taxed a good pitching staff while giving opposing teams too many extra outs. The Noles have only committed one error through the first four games and that’s a promising sign. If they consistently make the routine play they’ll be able to beat a lot of teams.

FSU scores a lot of runs but they also leave a ton of runners on base. In fact, they averaged leaving almost nine runners on base per game last season. They are already on that average with 8.75 runners left on the base paths through the first four games. That’s not acceptable against a team like Maine folks.

Power is the one category that’s hard to assess as you either have the players or you don’t. Obviously the Noles will face better pitching as the season progresses, but we’ve seen improvement here compared to last season. FSU had 36 percent of their hits to go for extra bases in 2018. They are at 51.5 percent of their hits going for extra based in the series against Maine.

Final Thoughts

It’s not a ton to take away from the series other than they did what they were supposed to do. One other thing I’d point out is the FSU pitchers are issuing too many walks. There’s absolutely no reason for them to have 14 walks through four games against Maine.

3 Things FSU Baseball Needs To Improve Upon In 2019. dark. Next

FSU’s game against Jacksonville was postponed Wednesday so they’ll look to get back to action Friday hosting Youngstown State Friday at 4 p.m. ET.

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