No. 11 Florida State baseball (17-3, 3-0) kicks off its ACC home slate with a three-game set against No. 10 NC State (17-4, 2-1) this weekend in Tallahassee.
The Noles seem to be hitting their stride, currently on a four-game winning streak after losing to Florida last Tuesday. FSU went into Wake Forest last weekend to begin conference play and swept the Demon Deacons on the backs of their starting pitching. The impressive pitching carried over this week, where Florida State combined to toss a no-hitter versus Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday, albeit in a seven-inning game. Link Jarrett will need his arms to continue to keep up this level of play against an NCSU team with barely any holes on the mound or in the lineup.
As mentioned, the Wolfpack are one of the most talented and deep teams in the country, leading Link Jarrett to tell the local Tallahassee media this week that this series is a “super-regional.” The stakes are obvious with a top-10 team coming to town, but a winning weekend would put Florida State firmly in the top-8 hosting mix and have their conference record be 5-1 or 6-0 to begin ACC play. It will not be easy, and the health of the Seminoles will be something to watch as the weekend unfolds. Jarrett said that Hunter Carns was “available” on Tuesday, but ultimately did not play. Carns is just one name on a host of injuries Florida State is dealing with.
NC State won its first ACC series last weekend, taking two of three against Boston College before defeating UNC Wilmington 14-2 after seven innings in their midweek game on Tuesday. Coming into the weekend, the Wolfpack ranks #9 in the country in team batting average and #5 in ERA.
Friday, March 20th, 6:00 PM vs. NC State
Saturday, March 21st, 2:00 PM vs. NC State
Sunday, March 22nd, 1:00 PM vs. NC State
Wolfpack hitters to know: