No. 4 FSU baseball (15-0) will look to extend its unbeaten record when they host the No. 7 rival Florida Gators (15-2) on Tuesday night.
FSU defeated the Gators in all three games last year, although both teams made appearances in the College World Series. Both teams have played soft schedules in the early season, with Florida's losses coming against Miami and UCF in back-to-back games.
Some people make a big deal about the matchup because it's two top 10 teams playing, but neither team will have their ace pitcher on the mound.
Florida usually uses this as a bullpen game, and FSU will go with its midweek starter, Evan Chrest. Chrest has gone at least five innings in all three starts, but this Florida offense will easily be the best he's faced.
He has a 2.87 ERA with 10 strikeouts and four walks in 15.2 innings. Batters hit .250 against him, and he's allowed 15 hits. Florida hits .336 with a .443 on-base percentage. They've hit 28 home runs and have stolen 31 of 34 attempts.
The Gators are solid defensively, with a .978 field percentage. They strike out in 21 percent of their at-bats.
Keys To Victory
FSU jumped on the Gators early in every game last year and got some solid starting pitching from its midweek guys. The Noles won the first game by four runs and the final two by 10+. The games were never close as the FSU offense pounded Florida's midweek pitching.
FSU is hitting .347 with a .447 on-base percentage. They have hit 21 home runs and have stolen 27 of 34 attempts. They don't have quite the firepower from a year ago but have found ways to score runs.
They still strike out a tad much for my liking, so I'm curious to see how they look against some of the arms Florida will run to the mound. FSU pitchers have to avoid walks and make them earn everything.
FSU is solid defensively, with a .978 field percentage. Their patience at the plate will be key in this one. Florida pitchers only have 47 walks in 140 innings, but with 203 strikeouts. It could be a rude awakening for the 2-3 young freshmen FSU will play in the game. Then again, they could rise to the challenge.
Make sure you tune in on the ACC Network Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET. Florida will have revenge on their mind while looking to end FSU's unbeaten streak. A Nole win would be a nice feather in the cap for Link Jarrett to extend the streak to four in the series.