FSU baseball: 'Noles road battle against rival Florida Gators on deck

FSU baseball is off to a 14-0 start this season. They haven't played the toughest schedule but have dominated lesser competition for the most part, outscoring opponents 168-48. They'll face their toughest and most talented opponent in the young season when they travel to Gainesville to face the rival No. 8 ranked Florida Gators (10-5) on Tuesday night. The Gators have owned the series lately, winning the last four and six of the last seven. FSU led late in all three games last year, but the bullpen couldn't hold the lead. Florida played in the CWS Finals last year, losing to LSU, but have gotten off to a sub-par start this season. Florida hitters have a .304 batting average and a .417 on-base percentage. They have hit 32 home runs while striking out 23.4 percent of their at-bats. Florida pitchers bring a 5.43 ERA with 176 strikeouts in 131 innings. Opposing batters hit .232 but have hit 16 home runs against the Gators. Florida is excellent defensively, with a .985 fielding percentage.

Andrew Armstrong will make his second start this season on Tuesday evening. The lefty has thrown 4.2 innings, allowing four hits, zero walks, zero runs, and seven strikeouts. Armstrong appeared in all three games against Florida last season. He pitched 5.1 innings total, allowing seven hits, three earned runs, two walks, and four strikeouts. Florida will counter with freshman Alex Philpott, who has made one start this season. Philpott has thrown 14 innings, allowing nine hits, four earned runs, seven walks, and 15 strikeouts. He's a tall lanky right-hander, standing 6'5" and 175 pounds. He's usually low 90s with the fastball, curveball, and tight slider in the low 80s.

This game will likely come down to the two bullpens like that season, but FSU seems likely that they can match Florida's offense better than the past two seasons. Link Jarrett starting Armstrong also likely means Conner Whittaker will start Sundays, with ACC play beginning this weekend. The game will air on the SEC Network and will start at 6 p.m. ET. If you can't watch on TV, the radio station is WFLA 100.7 FM.