FSU baseball: Key takeaways from ‘Noles two-game sweep over TCU

FSU baseball (26-15, 11-10 ACC) picked up an important two-game sweep over the TCU Horned Frogs over the weekend.

FSU led in the third game before it got canceled in the fourth inning due to weather and TCU traveling arrangements.

The first two games were not close as the Noles blasted TCU 10-0 in game one and 7-3 in game two.

It was a series I felt the Noles matched up well. Here’s an excerpt from the preview:

"Pitching is the biggest difference between the two teams. FSU has pitchers that can be more dominant when they’re on, so it’ll be interesting to see how they stack up. TCU will likely look to make FSU pitchers work for outs and try to get into FSU’s bullpen. FSU has to get more production from its offense. Logan Lacey and Alex Toral have been nearly automatic outs at the plate the past couple of weeks."

Parker Messick and Ross Dunn combined to pitch a two-hitter with 19 strikeouts and no walks in game one. The second game saw TCU touch Carson Montgomery early for three runs in 4.1 innings before Wyatt Crowell mowed them down over the final 4.2 innings. Crowell had six strikeouts, one walk, and one hit allowed. Offensively, Alex Toral and Logan Lacey finally decided to show up. They combined for five RBI and no strikeouts in the first two games. Both had home runs in the first two games, and Toral left the yard again in the canceled third game(third game stats won’t count since it didn’t go five innings).

Key Takeaways

• Parker Messick is Parker Messick
• Ross Dunn looked great out of the bullpen
• Bryce Hubbart still has not regained his dominant form
• Wyatt Crowell has been nasty out of the bullpen of late
• Lacey and Toral finally showed life at the plate
• Jordan Carrion continues to be scorching hot at the plate
• Reese Albert came alive, going 4-6 with six RBI in two games

Thoughts

It’s two good wins that should increase FSU’s RPI standings. It’s a team they matched up well with. TCU’s offense isn’t great and their pitching doesn’t overwhelm you aside from a couple of arms. However, it’s still good to see the hitters actually produce for a change, since they don’t always do it when the matchup favors them(see Clemson).

It was good to see Ross Dunn look dominant again, but FSU baseball needs Bryce Hubbart and Carson Montgomery to find their form if they want to make any noise in the postseason. It’s either that or Wyatt Crowell needs to find a more prominent role since he’s become dominant out of the bullpen.

The Noles will face Stetson Tuesday night before traveling to Boston College later in the week. These four games should be favorable for the Noles.