Florida State was flying high on May 8th. The Seminoles were coming off series victories over ranked teams in Miami and Coastal Carolina and opened a series against third-ranked Louisville with a convincing 13-4 win.
With a 37-14 record, a top 10 ranking and a top 5 RPI, Florida State appeared to be in line to snag a national seed. Since then however, FSU has had a hard time doing much right.
Following the 13-4 win in the series-opener against the Cardinals, the Seminoles managed just one hit in a 7-0 loss before concluding the series by blowing a 5-run lead on Mother’s Day as Louisville took the set.
Most recently against Clemson, things went from bad to worse for the Seminoles. Entering the 3-game set that began on Thursday, FSU had not lost a series at home all season.
After losing 4-1 to begin the series in Tallahassee, the Seminoles were shut out 7-0 for the second time in four games on Friday. Through the first 23 innings against the Tigers, FSU managed just a single run and just two through the first 26 innings.
Florida State ultimately got home runs from D.J. Stewart and Quincy Nieporte in a 5-run ninth inning in the series-finale to make what was a 9-1 massacre look like a more competitive game with a 9-6 final, but the Tigers still completed the sweep.
The ‘Noles have averaged just over two runs the last five games, but starting pitching hasn’t been much better. During the skid, only once has FSU had a starter make it through the fifth frame and that was Boomer Biegalski, who went six innings on Thursday.
With the regular season ending in disappointment, the Seminoles have turned their attention to the ACC Tournament. FSU will play Clemson for the fourth straight game on Wednesday before taking on North Carolina on Thursday and regular season champion Louisville on Saturday.
The Seminoles felt the consequences of their horrid stretch on Monday as they dropped in each of the five polls, but perhaps more important is the fact FSU fell to 14th in the RPI. The quality competition Florida State will see in the ACC Tournament will give the Seminoles a chance to improve that.
If Florida State is able to sweep through the conference tournament and beat Louisville and an opponent like Miami in the ACC final, FSU would certainly work its way back into the national seed conversation. A national seed would mean that Florida State would play every NCAA Tournament game at Dick Howser Stadium until the College World Series.
Conversely, if the Seminoles continue their funk in Durham, they could find themselves playing in a regional outside of Tallahassee.
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