FSU baseball: Link Jarrrett welcomes his old squad (Notre Dame) to Tallahassee

FSU baseball (15-0, 0-0 ACC) looks to stay unbeaten as they enter ACC play this weekend against Link Jarrett's former team, Notre Dame (11-5, 0-3 ACC. FSU baseball had a huge win over the rival Florida Gators earlier this week, and Notre Dame defeated Radford twice after getting swept on the road in ACC play against Virginia Tech last weekend. Notre Dame batters hit .277 with a .379 on-base percentage. They strike out in 25 percent of their at-bats and have 38 home runs. Notre Dame pitchers bring a 6.73 ERA, with 128 strikeouts and 70 walks in 139 innings. Opposing batters hit .268 and have hit 28 home runs. Defensively, Notre Dame brings an excellent .982 fielding percentage into the series. FSU batters match up well with this Notre Dame pitching staff. They don't strike out a ton of batters and give up a ton of home runs. This weekend will be the first time FSU has Cam Leiter, Jamie Arnold, and Conner Whittaker going on the weekends.

That's one of the best trio of starting pitchers nationally. The key will be to limit walks and keep the ball in the yard to avoid giving Notre Dame cheap runs. I look for all three pitchers to go at least five innings to give the bullpen some breathing room, and all of the guys in the bullpen should be well-rested since Tuesday's game. Those guys will need to limit walks and consistently throw strikes. I'm looking for efficiency from Leiter, who has thrown around 90 pitches in around 4-5 innings in his last couple of starts. Arnold and Whittaker have been outstanding in nearly every start. Friday's game will begin at 6 p.m., airing on the ACCNX channel, with radio available at WFLA 100.7 FM. It should be a great atmosphere as Link Jarrett welcomes his old team to Tallahassee.