FSU baseball: Noles host Miami in crucial ACC matchup

FSU baseball (30-17, 13-11 ACC) swept Jacksonville earlier this week to keep their hopes of hosting a regional alive.

A series against rival Miami (36-12, 17-7 ACC) will go a long way to determine if that possibility remains. The Noles swept Miami in four games last year.

A regular-season sweep and a win in the ACC Tournament. The Hurricanes will be looking for revenge.

Miami hitters bring a .299 average, with 68 home runs, 92 doubles, and 11 triples into the game. They have an on-base percentage of .403 and have stolen 50 bases out of 61 attempts.

Miami pitchers bring a 4.19 ERA, with 510 strikeouts and 182 walks in 432 innings. They allow opposing batters to hit .240 and have allowed 49 home runs. Miami’s defense has committed 51 errors for a .971 fielding percentage.

Advanced metrics place Jacksonville as the No. 3 team nationally, with FSU baseball checking in at No. 22. Miami has an RPI ranking of 6 and FSU has an RPI ranking of 18

FSU hitters bring a .262 average, with 48 home runs, 97 doubles, five triples, and an on-base percentage of .366 and have stolen 35 bases out of 50 attempts.

FSU pitchers bring a 3.71 ERA, with 575 strikeouts and 154 walks in 429.2 innings. They allow opposing batters to hit .223 and have allowed 51 home runs. FSU baseball has committed 57 errors for a .967 field percentage.

Key To Victory

FSU baseball will need to bring their “A” game in this matchup. Miami isn’t a good matchup because they have a compete team. Their pitching is good, their offense can mash, they are aggressive on the bases, and they play solid defense. FSU pitchers will need to hold Miami’s offense in check and make them earn everything. That means avoiding walks, and FSU’s defense needs to make the routine plays.

Offensively, FSU will need to attack the fastball early in the count and avoid giving away outs on the base paths. Miami’s starting pitchers all have good ERA’s, but their Friday starter, Carson Palmquist has an electric arm with 92 K’s in 64 innings. He’s not quite Parker Messick, but he’s one of the better arms the Noles will see this year. The other two starters are solid, but not necessarily overpowering. However, they have a closer that’s lights out in Andrew Walters. FSU has to put the ball in play and make something happen.

The game will begin at 7 p.m. ET and will air on the ACCNX channel.  2