FSU baseball: Mike Martin Jr. looks to stay perfect against Florida Gators

FSU baseball (6-6, 4-5 ACC) has won its last two ACC Conference series and looks to stay undefeated against Florida in the Mike Martin Jr. era.

The Noles ended their losing streak against the Gators in Mike Martin Jr.’s inaugural season. The Gators were undefeated and ranked No. 1 before the 2-0 three-hit shutout in Gainesville.

Florida (13-4) brings a lot of offensive weapons to the plate, and their pitching is good as well. Gator batters are hitting .303 with an on-base percentage of .392, and have slugged 23 home runs, six triples, and 32 doubles.

Gator pitchers will enter the contest with a 3.15 ERA, with opposing teams batting .219, with 165 strikeouts and 57 walks in 98 innings.

Defensively, Florida has 23 errors in 17 games for a fielding percentage of .965.

FSU’s strength is their pitching staff, who enters the contest with a 3.32 ERA, with opposing teams batting .213, with 149 strikeouts and 72 walks in 111 innings.

FSU batters are hitting .229 with an on-base percentage of .363, and have 12 home runs, zero triples, and 16 doubles.

Defensively, FSU has 16 errors in 12 games for a fielding percentage of .966.

How’s It Going To Go?

Both teams struggle defensively, so the edge will go to the team that puts the ball in play. That favors the Gators, who only strikeout 20 percent of their at-bats, compared to 36 percent for the Noles.

Florida has the edge in power and is the better overall team offensively. However, my grandpops always said good pitching stops good hitting.

Much of these factors were the same last year, and the Noles pulled off the upset. The Noles will start Carson Montgomery on the mound Tuesday night. Montgomery has been shaky with his control in two outings, with five walks in four innings, but he’s yet to allow an earned run.

Here’s to hoping the ‘Noles offensive momentum from Sunday’s game will carry over in front of the home crowd Tuesday night.