FSU baseball looks for season sweep against rival Florida Gators

No. 7 FSU baseball (26-5, 7-5 ACC) will look to take the three-game season sweep against the rival Florida Gators (17-14, 6-6 SEC) Tuesday night in what will be a packed house at Dick Howser Stadium. The Noles won two of three games on the road against Boston College, while the Gators got swept by the Missouri Tigers. The first two contests were not too competitive, with FSU defeating Florida on their home field 12-8 and 14-3 on a neutral field in Jacksonville. The Noles will start freshman John Abraham against the Gators. It's his second career start, with this first coming last week against Bethune Cookman. Abraham went 1.2 innings, allowing two earned runs, two hits, three walks, and one strikeout. He brings a 4.91 ERA in 14.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 12 walks and gotten 19 strikeouts, with opposing batters hitting .180.

The key for Abraham(as with most young pitchers) is to throw strikes consistently and make the opposing team earn what they get. It's likely why FSU is only a -150 betting favorite at home. Florida hasn't been great so far this season, especially in midweek games, but they can score runs in bunches with the power they have in the lineup. They rank No. 5 nationally with 67 home runs, although they only hit .267 as a team. Pitchers putting runners on base via walks is playing with fire. The good news? FSU batters have smoked Florida pitchers through the first two games and usually swing it well at Dick Howser Stadium. James Tibbs and Daniel Cantu have crushed Florida pitching in particular. I expect it to be one of the biggest crowds this season, if not the biggest, and the atmosphere should be electric. The bullpen has been solid against UF in both games. If FSU gets solid starting pitching from Abraham, I like their chances to get the job done. The game will air on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.