Florida State winning the series at home against Notre Dame wasn’t a surprise, but sweeping the Fighting Irish after how they looked over the past week was a bit of a surprise. FSU has been fairly consistent with its pitching over the course of the season, but the offense, or lack thereof, especially post-Myles Bailey, has been a major concern.
FSU got the pitching that it normally gets, but it was the offense that was the difference-maker for the Noles against Notre Dame. Frankly, if FSU had a better offensive showing, it probably would have won the series on the road against Georgia Tech. Nevertheless, we’re here to talk about how the offense woke up to generate runs.
First things first, they struck out nine or fewer times in all three games. They had 11 walks and 34 hits in 96 at-bats (.354 average), and 15 of those hits went for extra bases. Here’s a breakdown of the hitters for the series:
- Brayden Dowd: (2-10, 3 walks, 4 runs scored)
- Chase Williams: (6-10, 6 stolen bases, 5 runs scored)
- Hunter Carns: (0-8, 5 runs scored, one RBI)
- Nathan Cmeyla: (5-11, 3 runs scored, 6 RBI)
- John Stuetzer: (4-9, 2 runs scored, SB, 7 RBI)
- Cal Fisher: (5-11, one run scored, RBI)
- Gabe Fraser: (6-12, one run scored, RBI, SB)
- Eli Putnam: (2-11, 4 RBI)
- Carter McCulley: (2-9)
- Brody Dellamiellure: (2-3, 3 RBI)
FSU had two of its best and most consistent hitters go 2-18, but it didn’t matter because they had tons of guys to show up and show out. FSU, with 44 percent of its hits for extra bases, was huge, and they only left 18 runners on base in the series. The story of the series was probably Nathan Cmeyla, but John Stuetzer had a heck of a series at the plate. Chase Williams has quietly put together two ACC series in a row.
Gabe Fraser’s bat in the lineup made a difference. Cal Fisher had a solid series, as his batting average has climbed to .248.  Brody Dellamiellure only appeared in one game and made it count. FSU will need his bat down the stretch, so it’s good to see him locked in.
Is this sustainable? Notre Dame doesn’t have a great pitching staff outside of Jack Radel, and FSU chased him from the game after three innings. It’s good to see they can rake against a pitching staff they should rake against. Hopefully, we see this carry into next week, and at the very least, it should give them some confidence.
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