Major takeaways from Florida State baseball sweeping Pittsburgh and improving RPI

Florida State baseball needed a big week after being swept by Stanford on the road last weekend, and they delivered, going 4-0 and sweeping the Pittsburgh Panthers in a three-game series.

The Noles took a doubleheader on Saturday and came from behind on Sunday to win 6-4, despite not getting a great start on the mound from Bryson Moore.

It’s all about the matchups, and why I was confident Florida State could win the series or get the sweep if they got good pitching. Wes Mendes’ complete game helped tremendously, as FSU only needed three pitchers in the two games on Saturday. That’s why Bryson Moore only throwing 3.1 innings wasn’t a big deal, as the bullpen was lights out with Payton Manca and Chris Knier throwing 5.2 innings and only allowing two hits, one walk, no runs, and five strikeouts.

I wrote about the weakness of the Pitt pitching staff, and it showed, as Florida State pounded 15 hits and only struck out six times on Sunday. They didn’t strike out more than seven times in any game in the series.

Florida State got fireworks from an unlikely contributor in Carter McCulley’s 3-3 performance on Sunday. The usual contributors like Brayden Dowd, John Stuetzer, Hunter Carns, and Gabe Fraser played big parts in the win.

Florida State matched up well agaisnt a Pitt team that struggles on the mound. It was good to see them take advantage of that weakness and get the sweep. Great job by the FSU pitchers to limit a potent Pitt offense.

The key to Florida State’s success is simple. They must have good starting pitching, and the offense has to put the ball in play and limit the strikeouts, especially when they have runners in scoring position. They are solid defensively.

If they don’t get a quality start from Wes Mendes or Trey Beard in the first two games, it throws everything out of whack regarding the bullpen, because they don’t have a ton of arms they fully trust. It’s great to get Payton Manca back, and Cooper Whited can play a role in the postseason. Chris Knier and John Abraham have been outstanding in relief.

FSU improved its RPI to No. 7 nationally. They have two ACC series remaining, a road series against Clemson and hosting a reeling Miami Hurricanes team. If they can finish the season strong, they’ll host regionals and could sneak into a top-eight national seed if everything lines up.

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