Florida State baseball (38-16, 19-11 ACC) learned who they will play in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament after receiving a double-bye for finishing No. 3 in the conference. The opponent will be the Pittsburgh Panthers (32-23, , and not the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Why is that important? Florida State is fighting for a top-eight national seed and needs to face the toughest opposition possible in the ACC Tournament. FSU swept both teams in the regular season, Wake Forest on the road and Pitt at home. However, Wake Forest has the higher RPI between the two, so Florida State potentially beating them again would do more for its quest to earn a top-eight seed than beating Pitt.
The stage is set, tomorrow we go. pic.twitter.com/FgJvjgIwwI
— FSU Baseball (@FSUBaseball) May 21, 2026
Pittsburgh’s RPI has improved to No. 42 with its win over Wake Forest. However, after sweeping the Panthers a couple of weeks ago, Florida State is expected to win against them; therefore, beating a team they already beat with an RPI outside the top 40 does nothing for FSU. Another win over Wake Forest would have been better for Florida State’s overall resume.
FSU will need North Carolina to win its game against Virginia Tech and hope to rematch Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament Finals for a real shot to improve its case for a top-eight national seed(provided they win).
The other curveball is the weather in North Carolina. The games have already been affected, going deep into the night and taking longer than expected to finish. Florida State was slated to play on Friday night at 7 p.m., but that game has been moved up to 3 p.m. Â
Florida State plans to keep its starting rotation the same as usual, with Wes Mendes getting the start on Friday. He fired a complete game on 105 pitches, allowing five hits, one earned run, zero walks, and seven strikeouts. Pitt’s pitching has already been taxed with playing two games before this one. Florida State should have the edge there, and the balls have been flying all over the park in Charlotte. Pitt has a good offense, which made Mendes's performance against them even more impressive.
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