FSU baseball: Noles look to stay unbeaten against Jacksonville

FSU baseball (3-0, 0-0 ACC) looks to stay unbeaten when they travel to take on the Jacksonville Dolphins Tuesday evening. FSU swept James Madison over the weekend and looked strong in all three phases.

The Noles fell to the Dolphins last season in mid-week action 8-7.

Jacksonville (3-0, 0-0 ASUN) comes into the game after sweeping High Point University over the weekend.

Jacksonville batters are hitting .333 with an on-base percentage of .447 and have hit one home run and six doubles.

Jacksonville pitchers will enter the contest with a 4.33 ERA, with opposing teams batting .188, with 35 strikeouts and 19 walks in 27 innings. They have allowed one home run.

Defensively, Jacksonville has four errors in three games for a fielding percentage of .962.

FSU pitchers enter the contest with a 2.33 ERA, with opposing teams batting .216, with 47 strikeouts and 14 walks in 27 innings.

FSU batters are hitting .374 with an on-base percentage of .453 and have four home runs and 12 doubles.

Defensively, FSU has two errors in three games for a fielding percentage of .978.

Key To Victory

Jacksonville pitchers have a propensity to issue walks, and the Jacksonville defense has proven shaky through three games.

Their offense hasn’t shown much power against a team with nowhere near the quality of pitching FSU will bring. FSU batters will need to pick up where they left off against James Madison. They have to have quality at-bats and put the ball in play. If they get runners on base, it’s important to pressure the defense by putting runners in motion.

FSU pitchers need to work ahead in the count and not issue walks. That’s something they struggled with Sunday and in the game against Jacksonville last year. I’m not sure who’ll be on the mound for the Noles Tuesday night, but I’d expect it to be Carson Montgomery. Mike Martin Jr. said that was the plan as long as a heel injury Montgomery has would allow him to pitch.

Montgomery pitched 4.2 innings in relief last year against Jacksonville, allowing two earned runs with six strikeouts and two walks. Montgomery struggled with his control last year, failing to make it to the fifth inning in any of his starts. If Montgomery isn’t the starter, it’ll likely be Johnny Wholestaff(a combination of pitchers).