FSU baseball: Can Bryce Hubbart regain his dominant form against BC?

FSU baseball (27-17, 12-11 ACC) got a much-needed 10-4 win over the Boston College Eagles Saturday afternoon.

The Noles used 13 hits and six Boston College errors to even the series going into Sunday’s rubber match. FSU pitcher Bryce Hubbart will get the start in what will be his second consecutive Sunday start after usually pitching on Saturdays this year. Hubbart was dominant early in the year, nearly matching Parker Messick’s dominance, but those results have not been in the cards for Hubbart in his last few starts.

His stats against TCU were thrown out since the game got canceled, but he wasn’t particularly dominant against a team that’s not great offensively. Hubbart went 5.2 innings against Clemson, allowing seven hits, three earned runs, one walk, and no strikeouts. Hubbart went 5.1 innings against Louisville, allowing five hits, one earned run, two walks, and six strikeouts on 92 pitches. Hubbart went 4.1 innings against Georgia Tech, allowing seven hits, four earned runs, two walks, and three strikeouts. Hubbart went 3.1 innings against Notre Dame, allowing three hits, two earned runs, and two strikeouts.

We have to go back to Hubbart’s March 26th start against Duke to see him go over fiving innings. He still allowed eight hits in seven innings, with one walk and four strikeouts. Louisville, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, and Clemson have good offenses, but he’s not going deep into games and isn’t getting the swing and misses we’re used to seeing from Hubbart. He seems to have lost a little zip on his fastball, which is why teams are squaring it up against him more than usual and why his strikeouts have been down considerably. Hubbart has still been good, bringing a 3.02 ERA into Sunday’s start against Boston College.

He’s finding ways to get guys out and not giving up a ton of runs even though he’s finding himself battling more with runners on base. It’s a testament to his growth as a pitcher, but Sunday would be a great opportunity for Hubbart to find that dominance again. Boston College strikes out a ton and isn’t a good hit for an average team. The Noles desperately need a win Sunday to keep their slim chance of hosting a regional alive. A quality start from Hubbart would go a long way to keeping that hope alive.