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FSU baseball: Noles look to ride momentum past Central Florida

By Kelvin Hunt

TALLAHASSEE, FL - FEBRUARY 15: A general view of the Florida State Seminoles Baseball Team in the dugout during the game against the Maine Black Bears at Dick Howser Stadium on the campus of Florida State University on February 15, 2019 in Tallahassee, Florida. The 11th Ranked Florida State defeated the Maine Black Bears on Opening Day in a no-hitter 11 to 0. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - FEBRUARY 15: A general view of the Florida State Seminoles Baseball Team in the dugout during the game against the Maine Black Bears at Dick Howser Stadium on the campus of Florida State University on February 15, 2019 in Tallahassee, Florida. The 11th Ranked Florida State defeated the Maine Black Bears on Opening Day in a no-hitter 11 to 0. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /
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FSU baseball (10-6, 7-5 ACC) comes off arguably the greatest four-game stretch in program history. They obliterated rivals Florida and Miami, outscoring two top 10 teams 44-4 over four games.

They look to ride that momentum against Central Florida (9-10) in a mid-week matchup Wednesday night in Tallahassee.

Central Florida comes into the contest winners of four of their last five games. They hold series wins over North Florida, Ole Miss(No. 1 ranked), and Jacksonville.

Central Florida batters are hitting .266 with an on-base percentage of .374, and have slugged 27 home runs, five triples, and 26 doubles.

Central Florida pitchers will enter the contest with a 4.72 ERA, with opposing teams batting .259, with 166 strikeouts and 64 walks in 167.2 innings.

Defensively, Central Florida has 23 errors in 19 games for a fielding percentage of .967.

FSU’s strength is the balance between pitching and hitting as of late. FSU pitchers enter the contest with a 2.76 ERA, with opposing teams batting .195, with 193 strikeouts and 67 walks in 147 innings.

FSU batters are hitting .258 with an on-base percentage of .373, and have 20 home runs, zero triples, and 26 doubles. However, they’ve batted well over .300 over the past four games.

Defensively, FSU has 18 errors in 16 games for a fielding percentage of .971.

How’s It Going To Go?

Central Florida batters have hit lots of home runs, but they strikeout 28 percent of the time. FSU starting pitcher Carson Montgomery has the potential to sit a lot of these guys down. The key for him will be control and avoiding walks.

He was fantastic against Florida through 4.2 innings last week with nine strikeouts and three walks. If the Noles can get five or six innings out of him and get to the bullpen, it’ll likely be enough to get the job done.

FSU batters have been on a tear recently, but UCF pitcher Kenny Serwa is no walk in the park. He was rated as the No. 257 MLB Draft prospect last year. Serwa has seven strikeouts and three walks in seven innings, with a 3.86 ERA this year.

FSU batters need to continue what they’ve been doing, aggressive in hitter counts and putting the ball in play because UCF will kick it around defensively.

The first pitch will be at 6 p.m. with the game airing on the ACC Network.

Next. How FSU Dominated Florida and Miami in Baseball. dark

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