ACC Tournament Preview: No. 9 FSU baseball takes on No. 5 Virginia

FSU baseball (32-22, 15-15 ACC) will look to end their four-game losing streak when they take on No. 5 seed Virginia (38-15, 17-13 ACC) in the ACC Tournament.

The Noles got swept by North Carolina in their regular-season finale, with Virginia sweeping the Tarheels in late April. FSU’s chances of hosting a regional tournament are all but gone with a disappointing season, but a good showing in the ACC Tournament could provide some momentum going into the postseason.

Virginia batters are hitting .314 with an on-base percentage of .416 and have hit 72 home runs, 99 doubles, and 14 triples.

Virginia pitchers will enter the contest with a 3.88 ERA, with opposing teams batting .229, with 562 strikeouts and 226 walks in 470.1 innings. They have allowed 52 home runs.

Defensively, Virginia has 51 errors for a fielding percentage of .973. FSU baseball pitchers enter the contest with a 4.08 ERA, with opposing teams batting .229 with 655 strikeouts and 184 walks in 490 innings.

FSU batters are hitting .262 with an on-base percentage of .364 and have 55 home runs, 105 doubles, and six triples.

Defensively, FSU has 64 errors for a fielding percentage of .968. FSU an RPI ranking of No. 29, compared to Virginia’s No. 15 ranking.

Keys To Victory

This is not a good matchup for the Noles. Virginia has one of the better offenses in the ACC. They hit for average, power, and only strikeout about 20 percent of their at-bats. They can generate pressure on opposing defenses on the bases with 63 steals on 78 attempts. Their pitching staff is good, with a better ERA than FSU, and they play solid defense.

Bryce Hubbart will get the start for the Noles against UVA. Hubbart had two solid starts before his last outing against North Carolina, where he only lasted an inning. He’s going to need to be sharp for the Noles to have a shot in this one. If he provides a quality outing, Wyatt Crowell will need to show a short memory from allowing the walk-off home run in the first game against North Carolina his last time out. Offensively, the bats have to show up and avoid leaving runners on base and making dumb base running decisions.

Basically, FSU has to avoid playing like they have the last couple of games. The game will begin Wednesday at 3 p.m. on Bally Sports.