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FSU baseball: Noles need a series win or sweep against North Carolina

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 (13-8, 8-7 ACC) got back in the win column against Mercer in their last outing. They need a series win or sweep against North Carolina (13-10, 8-7 ACC).

FSU baseball won three consecutive ACC series after dropping their conference-opening series against Pittsburgh.

The series-winning streak came to a halt against Wake Forest last week after the Noles won the opener and lost the final two games.

The Noles will look to get back on track against North Carolina, who have lost four straight games.

North Carolina batters are hitting .255 with an on-base percentage of .354, and have slugged 32 home runs, five triples, and 35 doubles.

North Carolina pitchers will enter the contest with a 4.49 ERA, with opposing teams batting .237, with 206 strikeouts and 91 walks in 202.1 innings. They have allowed 21 home runs.

Defensively, North Carolina has 18 errors in 23 games for a fielding percentage of .978.

FSU’s strength had been its pitching and hitting this year, with the pitching the more consistent of the two.

FSU pitchers enter the contest with a 3.17 ERA, with opposing teams batting .202, with 258 strikeouts and 85 walks in 193 innings.

FSU batters are hitting .252 with an on-base percentage of .369, and have 31 home runs, one triple, and 30 doubles.

Defensively, FSU has 22 errors in 21 games for a fielding percentage of .972.

How’s It Going To Go?

FSU’s success begins with their pitching, and their weekend rotation has been among the best in the nation this year. Wake Forest made adjustments and attacked early in the count as FSU pitchers looked to get ahead with strikes.

North Carolina batters strikeout 28 percent of the time, so FSU pitchers will likely find success as long as they don’t issue tons of walks. The FSU defense has been solid of late.

FSU batters have been hot and cold with Logan Lacey out of the lineup since the Miami series. Nander De Sedas will likely be out of the lineup again with an oblique injury.

The FSU offense has to avoid striking out so often and putting the ball in play so things can happen. If they do that, I think they’ll have a good shot at winning or sweeping the series.

FSU needs to stack as many wins as possible with a shortened season in hopes making it back to the post-season and eventually the College World Series.

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