FSU baseball: Keys to beating Auburn in the regionals

No. 3 seed FSU baseball (34-23) used solid pitching and timely hits to move past No. 2 seed UCLA Friday afternoon.

They move to the winner’s bracket to take on No. 1 seed and regional host Auburn (38-19), who easily moved past Southeastern Louisiana Friday night. There are subtle differences between UCLA and Auburn as an opponent.

Auburn batters are hitting .285 with an on-base percentage of .384 and have hit 59 home runs, 103 doubles, and eight triples.

Auburn pitchers will enter the contest with a 4.43 ERA, with opposing teams batting .252, with 555 strikeouts and 224 walks in 498 innings. They have allowed 60 home runs.

Defensively, Auburn has 40 errors for a fielding percentage of .980. FSU baseball pitchers enter the contest with a 4.08 ERA, with opposing teams batting .232 with 675 strikeouts and 186 walks in 507 innings.

FSU batters are hitting .263 with an on-base percentage of .362 and have 58 home runs, 113 doubles, and seven triples.

Defensively, FSU has 68 errors for a fielding percentage of .967.

Keys To Victory

The two teams are very similar, with Auburn having more power than UCLA, but probably with slightly lesser pitching. FSU’s Bryce Hubbart will take the mound Saturday night.

Hubbart was solid in his last start against a better-hitting Virginia team. The key for Hubbart is getting ahead in the count and avoiding wasting pitches. Auburn does a good job of making pitchers work and draw a lot of walks. The good news is Auburn isn’t the threat to run on the bases compared to UCLA, as they are 47 of 58 on stolen base attempts. They have one guy, Sonny DiChiara, who’s a major threat to leave the yard with 19 home runs.

Auburn used their No. 2 guy against Southeasten Louisiana, so the Noles will likely face Hayden Mullis. Batters are hitting .197 against Mullis, and he has 43 strikeouts and 25 walks in 34.2 innings. He’s a lefty with a mid-90s fastball and a nasty curveball but struggles with throwing strikes consistently.

FSU batters will need to be aggressive early in the count when he’s in the zone. However, patience at the plate could get him out of the game early if he’s not on his game.

Bryce Hubbart has to be on his game, and the FSU batters need to take advantage of their scoring opportunities. They wasted a number of them against UCLA, and Auburn’s offense is more potent than UCLA’s.

Auburn will be playing in front of their home crowd, so getting out to an early lead to take them out of the game would be optimal.

The game will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.