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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville University Baseball heads to Tallahassee on Tuesday night for an in-state midweek matchup against No. 20 Florida State. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
The contest marks Jacksonville’s fourth consecutive road game and the second meeting between the two programs this season.
How to Follow
Watch: ACCNX
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Here
Follow live updates on Twitter/X and Instagram at @JAX_Baseball.
On the Mound
Junior right-hander Gavin Dicks (#16) gets the start for the Dolphins.
Dicks has worked 8.2 innings this season with nine strikeouts and just two walks. He will face a Florida State offense that is hitting .277 as a team and averaging seven runs per game. The 6-foot-3 junior picked up his first win of the season against Long Island, striking out seven over 6.0 innings of work.
The Seminoles are expected to counter with redshirt freshman right-hander Rhett Vaughn, who has struck out seven in 3.1 innings this season. Florida State’s staff owns a 3.62 ERA with 108 strikeouts in 87.0 innings, anchored by junior left-hander Wes Mendes (0.55 ERA) and junior right-hander John Abraham (0.82 ERA) out of the bullpen.
In the first meeting between the teams on February 17, FSU earned a 13-3 win in Jacksonville, with Derek Bermudez accounting for all three JU runs on a three-run home run.
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— Jacksonville Baseball (@JUBaseball) February 18, 2026
Red-Hot Bats
Jacksonville enters Tuesday with one of the hottest lineups in the region, hitting .332 as a team with 17 home runs and 102 RBI through 12 games.
Jonah Shields carries a nine-game hit streak into the matchup. The junior went 2-for-4 from the plate last time out vs FSU.
Freshman Cade Walter has hit safely in six straight games and is coming off an impressive weekend, launching two home runs to take the team lead with six long balls. Walter has hit two home runs in every series this season.
Abdriel Delgado went 3-for-4 with a double in Sunday’s finale against UAB. In total he finished 4-for-6, including a home run in game two.
Derek Bermudez is batting .442 with five home runs and 22 RBI and has recorded a hit in 11 of 12 games this season.
Walter (.400), Shields (.409), Bermudez (.442), and Vergara (.378) continue to provide production throughout the order as the Dolphins look for a road response against a ranked opponent.
Florida State’s Top Bats
Florida State is hitting .277 as a team through 10 games.
Sophomore first baseman Myles Bailey leads the Seminoles offensively, batting .387 with four home runs and 11 runs scored. Fellow sophomore Noah Sheffield is hitting .324 with four doubles and 10 RBI, while junior center fielder Chase Williams adds speed with four stolen bases.
The Seminoles have drawn 52 walks this season and have combined timely extra-base hits with plate discipline early in the year.
NEXT UP
The Dolphins will host UNCW at John Sessions for a three-game series, starting this Friday. The games will be streamed on ESPN+.