FSU baseball: Keys to winning rubbermatch against Miami

FSU baseball (31-18, 14-12 ACC) won the second game of the Saturday doubleheader after a tough loss in the series opener.

The Noles used a Jordan Carrion home run, some timely hits, and several Miami defensive errors to break through in an important game. Bryce Hubbart and Wyatt Crowell shut a potent Miami offense down, and the game shouldn’t have been as close as it was.

That brings me to Sunday’s game and what the Noles need to do to win the series.

Keys To Victory

-Good start from Carson Montgomery
-Take advantage of scoring opportunities
-Put pressure on Miami early

FSU baseball hasn’t had a good start on Sunday’s for quite some time, but that’s what they need from Carson Montgomery. Montgomery has electric stuff that can nullify Miami’s offense, but needs to work ahead in the count and avoid walks. The FSU bullpen will need to be ready to go in the event things don’t go well early. Wyatt Crowell finishing Saturday’s game means there are several arms that should be fresh and ready to rock.

FSU was 1-20 with runners in scoring position in the second game against Miami. That can’t happen Sunday when the Noles have scoring opportunities. FSU failed to put the ball in play too many times and made the second game way closer than it should have been.

FSU scored first in the first two games, but built a huge 5-0 lead early in the second game that seemed to take some of the life out of Miami’s team. Miami is a momentum team that’s hard to stop once they get going, and a big early lead on Sunday could cause them to lay down since they already know they’ll make the postseason and could be a regional host.

A win over Miami Sunday could keep FSU’s slim chances of hosting a regional alive depending on what happens in the rest of the conference. Sunday’s game will begin at 12 noon and will air on the ESPN2 channel.