![Florida St. pitcher Hudson Rowan (46) reacts to a foul ball during the fourth inning of an NCAA college baseball matchup Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. FSU rallied to defeat UF 8-4 off a walk-off grand slam from Alex Lodise in the ninth inning. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_6000,h_3375/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/270/01jx87sdvyexatpnxg33.jpg "Florida St. pitcher Hudson Rowan (46) reacts to a foul ball during the fourth inning of an NCAA college baseball matchup Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. FSU rallied to defeat UF 8-4 off a walk-off grand slam from Alex Lodise in the ninth inning. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
In the preview for this Super Regional series with Oregon State, I wrote that FSU baseball had the edge in starting pitching. It's why starting Joey Volini in game one and Jamie Arnold in game two was the right move to match up with Oregon State's two best starters.
FSU has had a designated three-man starting rotation, with Wes Mendes pitching on Sundays and starting 15 games, just like Volini and Arnold.
However, Oregon State has two starters with 16 starts each, and they were the two pitchers FSU faced in the first two games. The Oregon State pitcher with the next highest amount of starts came out of the bullpen in game one, pitching 2.2 innings (37 pitches) and allowing four hits and two earned runs. It's possible FSU could see him on Sunday at some point if he's not starting. However, what this means is it will likely be a bullpen game for the Beavers.
I believe that's an advantage for FSU with Wes Mendes on the mound. FSU also has the following relievers available: Joe Charles, Chris Knier, and John Abraham (among the guys I somewhat trust). FSU has other arms that have not played in weeks, but if we see them, it's probably not a good thing, though Payton Manca might be someone who can get a few outs.
The key will be Wes Mendes continuing to match what he's done over his last three starts. He has gone at least five innings in each (19.1), striking out 19 and walking seven while allowing 15 hits (only four extra-base hits).
The FSU offense has struggled mightly against Oregon State starters, but Sunday could be the opportunity to put up some numbers against their bullpen arms. If FSU can get out to a lead early and Mendes matches what he's done of late? FSU should have no problem advancing to the College World Series for the second consecutive year.