It was yet another stellar year for Mike Martin’s Seminoles as Florida State concluded the ACC Tournament with a record of 43-15. Although Florida State did not win the ACC Tournament, it claimed the Atlantic division title during the regular season and did enough to earn the fifth national seed heading into the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament for FSU will get underway on Friday as the Seminoles take on Georgia Southern. Florida State will be hosting the Tallahassee Regional which also features Alabama and Kennesaw State. Those schools will kick off the double-elimination Tallahassee Regional against one another on Friday afternoon.
FSU enters the Tallahassee Regional having won 19 straight games in regional play. The Seminoles have not failed to advance past the regional round since 2007. Throughout the course of the season, Florida State showed very few weaknesses as the fan base is optimistic that this could finally be the year that the ‘Noles win that first national championship.
Thanks largely to ACC Player of the Year, D.J. Stewart, Florida State led the ACC in runs scored this season by a large margin. Stewart currently leads the ACC in batting average while FSU first baseman John Nogowski leads the conference with 49 RBIs. Third baseman Jose Brizuela has also been solid in the middle of the Florida State lineup while junior outfielder Josh Delph has done a nice job as the table-setter at the top of the order.
With a rotation that features Luke Weaver and Mike Compton, the Seminoles are second in the ACC in team ERA this season. While the starting pitching has been solid, the back end of the bullpen featuring Gage Smith and Jameis Winston has been lights out as well. Smith and Winston have combined to allow just 18 earned runs in over 91 innings of work this season.
Having the regional at home should be a big advantage for FSU. After another stellar year, the top-seeded Seminoles are certainly the favorite to advance from the Tallahassee Regional, but advancing may not come easy. Here is a look at the competition that Florida State will face during the regional:
#2 Alabama (34-22), SEC At-Large
Offensively, Alabama ranked in the middle of the pack in the SEC this season, but four different Crimson Tide players have batting averages over .300. Austen Smith’s .316 batting average and 36 RBIs leads the club this season while cleanup hitter Ben Moore has supplied the power. Moore leads the Tide with nine home runs on the year, which is tied for third in the SEC.
As far as pitching is concerned, the strength for Alabama this season has been the bullpen. Tucker Hawley and closer Thomas Burrows combined to go 8-2 this season with a 1.78 ERA. Burrows ranks second in the SEC with 10 saves on the season.
#3 Kennesaw State (37-21), Atlantic Sun Champions
The Owls of Kennesaw State arrive in Tallahassee after going a perfect 4-0 at the Atlantic Sun Tournament. Kennesaw State is led by Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, Max Pentecost. The junior catcher finished second in the conference in terms of batting average and runs scored. Pentecost led the conference in hits, RBIs, total bases and slugging percentage. Hitting behind Pentecost is Bo Way, who also finished in the top 10 of the A-Sun in batting average.
On the mound, sophomores Jordan Hillyer and Travis Bergen each lead the squad with seven victories on the season. Junior closer Justin McCalvin has 14 saves on the season which is tops in the Atlantic Sun Conference. All three players boast an ERA below 3.50 for the year.
#4 Georgia Southern (39-21), Southern Conference Champions
Georgia Southern won the SoCon Championship in dramatic fashion over the weekend and has shown an ability to play with the big boys this season. On the year, the Eagles notched wins over Georgia, Georgia Tech and Clemson.
While junior outfielder Aaron Mizell had a solid season at the plate, finishing second in the Southern Conference in home runs and sixth in RBIs, the Eagles have been propelled by the pitching staff. Jason Richman, Josh Wirsu and Sam Howard rank one, two and three in the Southern Conference in terms of earned run average. Wirsu ranks second in the conference in ERA, strikeouts and wins while Richman, the Southern Conference’s ERA leader, has appeared in 45 of Georgia Southern’s 60 games this season.
Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Friday, May 30th
Game 1: Kennesaw State vs. Alabama, 12:00 P.M.
Game 2: Georgia Southern vs. Florida State, 6:00 P.M.
Saturday, May 31st
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 12:00 P.M.
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4:00 P.M.
Sunday, June 1st
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 11:00 A.M.
Game 6: Game 5 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 4:00 P.M.
Monday, June 2nd
Game 7: Game 6 rematch (if necessary), 6:00 P.M.
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