{"id":250793,"date":"2026-04-29T08:15:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T08:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/250793\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T08:15:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T08:15:24","slug":"no-14-florida-state-begins-homestand-wednesday-vs-usf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/250793\/","title":{"rendered":"No. 14 Florida State Begins Homestand Wednesday vs. USF"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE \u2013 The No. 14 Florida State baseball team commences a five-game homestand with a matchup against USF on Wednesday, April 29, at 4 p.m. ET, at Dick Howser Stadium.
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\nTickets are available at Seminoles.com\/Tickets<\/a> or by calling the FSU ticket office at 850-644-1830. Admission is free for all FSU students with their FSUID, with the student entrance at the right field gate at Haggard Plaza. All gates at Dick Howser Stadium will open 60 minutes prior to first pitch for every game in 2026.
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\nThe game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra<\/a>, accessible through your television provider or a subscription to ESPN+. Fans can listen to every game via the Seminole Sports Network on WFLA 100.7 FM. Each game also is available around the world on the Seminoles Unconquered App<\/a> and Seminoles.com<\/a>. Live stats are at FSU.Statbroadcast.com<\/a>. Direct links to watch, listen and follow along can be found on the schedule page at Seminoles.com\/Baseball<\/a>. News, notes and behind-the-scenes updates are available by following and connecting with the team on social media on Twitter\/X<\/a> and Facebook<\/a> (@FSUBaseball) and Instagram<\/a> (@NoleBaseball).
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\nStarting pitchers for the matchup have not been determined for either team.
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\nFSU is 29-14 on the season, 20-3 at home, 8-8 on the road, 1-3 at a neutral site and 7-7 against ranked opponents. The team is 12-9 in the ACC and tied for fourth place. The Seminoles return home after a 1-3 week on the road. Through seven weekends of conference play, Florida State has five series wins with two sweeps having played four top-12 nationally-ranked opponents.
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\nAs a team, FSU is hitting .277 with 392 hits, 51 home runs, 91 doubles, nine triples, 210 walks, 312 runs scored and 274 RBI. The pitching staff has a 4.21 ERA with 169 earned runs allowed on 307 hits with 457 strikeouts and 169 walks in 261.1 innings.
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\nSophomore catcher Hunter Carns<\/a> is hitting .319 while junior center fielder Brayden Dowd<\/a> and freshman right fielder John Stuetzer<\/a> both have 38 hits. Redshirt senior first baseman Eli Putnam<\/a> has eight home runs. Junior left fielder Chase Williams<\/a> has 16 stolen bases in 19 attempts. On the mound, junior lefty Wes Mendes<\/a> is 7-3 with a 2.43 ERA, having struck out 86 and allowed 17 earned runs on 43 hits in 63.0 innings. Junior right-hander John Abraham<\/a> has made 15 appearances, all but one out of the bullpen, and has 50 strikeouts and a 0.93 ERA in 38.2 innings.
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\nNATIONALLY RANKED SEMINOLES
\nFlorida State is ranked nationally in the top-17 in each major poll, including at No. 14 by D1Baseball. FSU also is No. 12 in the Coaches Poll, No. 13 by NCBWA, No. 15 according to The Athletic, No. 16 in the Perfect Game top-25 and No. 17 in Baseball America’s rankings.
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\nSERIES HISTORY VS. USF
\nFlorida State is 76-16 all-time against USF, including 48-5 at home, 28-11 in Tampa and 1-0 at a neutral site. FSU has won six in a row and 21 of the last 22 after winning both matchups last season. The series began with a pair of home victories in 1969 that started a 6-0 stretch. The two teams split the next four matches, in 1972 and 1973, before the Seminoles won the next 20 from 1974-1980. Last year, FSU defeated USF 6-2 in Tampa and 19-0 in Tallahassee.
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\nIn its first midweek game of 2025, Florida State earned a 6-2 road win on February 18. The Seminoles took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning and made it 3-0 in the fifth. The Bulls got their first run in the bottom of that inning before Florida State added one in the seventh and two more in the top of the ninth. USF got one in the bottom half and had two on with one out, but could not get any closer. Four players had two hits, including Williams and Cal Fisher<\/a>, who both added two RBI.
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\nOn April 15 at Howser, FSU scored seven runs in the first inning and never looked back in a 19-0 win in seven innings. Eight starters had multiple hits, four had multiple RBIs and seven scored multiple runs. Meanwhile, the pitching staff allowed just three hits and did not walk a batter to register the shutout. The Seminoles jumped out to a 7-0 lead after one inning and added a season-high eight more in the fifth. The Bulls had single runners on base four times, but only once did they reach second base, in the first inning with two outs. Fisher homered in a two-hit, four-RBI, two-run game. Williams had two hits and two RBI with a run scored. On the mound, Payton Manca<\/a> gave up just two hits with four strikeouts in 4.0 shutout innings and earned the win.
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\nRecaps and box scores from the 2025 games can be found here: Game 1<\/a> | Game 2<\/a>
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\nSCOUTING THE BULLS
\nUSF is 28-15 on the season, 20-6 at home and 8-9 on the road. The Bulls are 7-11 in The American and in ninth place after getting swept at East Carolina last weekend. Two of the defeats were run-rule losses. USF boasts an 8-2 record in midweek contests following a 6-5 win at Stetson on April 21.
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\nLAST TIME OUT: ROADTRIP ENDS IN CALIFORNIA
\nFSU concluded a coast-to-coast roadtrip with a 0-3 weekend at Stanford from April 24-26 at Sunken Diamond. The Seminoles suffered their second series loss of the season, and the middle game marked the team’s first extra-innings defeat of 2026. Making its first trip to Stanford since 2003, Florida State is now 11-12 all-time vs. the Cardinal and 3-7 in California. The losses came after a five-game win streak.
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\nFlorida State was edged 4-3 on Friday night. The Seminoles scored three runs in the third inning, but the Cardinal answered with all four of their runs in the fifth. Mendes took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and retired 13 of the first 14 batters he faced. In 6.0 innings, he allowed four runs on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Junior righty Chris Knier<\/a> relieved Mendes with the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh and escaped the jam to allow no runs on one hit in 2.0 innings. Carns was one of two players with two hits and he added an RBI, while Williams recorded a team-leading two RBI with a hit and a run.
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\nFSU lost 8-7 in 11 innings on Saturday afternoon. The game featured five lead changes, ending with a single run in the 11th. Stanford took a 2-0 lead in the second, only for FSU to answer with four in the third. However, SU tied it at 4-4 in the bottom of the inning and took a 6-4 lead in the fourth. Again, the Seminoles responded with two in the fifth and one in the seventh to claim a 7-6 advantage. The Cardinal tied it again at 7-7 in the bottom of the seventh before the final run in the 11th. Redshirt sophomore right fielder Brody DeLamielleure<\/a> had two hits, two RBI and one run scored. Junior left-handed starter Trey Beard<\/a> allowed six runs, three earned, on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in 4.0 innings. Abraham relieved Beard and gave up one run on two hits in 4.0 innings.
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\nThe Seminoles fell to Stanford 7-4 in the series finale. FSU took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but SU answered with one in the second and another in the fourth to tie the game. The visitors regained a 3-2 advantage in the sixth and SU again tied it at 3-3 in the seventh. A solo home run by Putnam in the ninth gave Florida State the lead back, 4-3, but Stanford scored four in the bottom half to win the game. Putnam’s home run was part of a two-hit day. Carns joined Putnam with two hits, an RBI and a run scored. Junior right-handed starter Bryson Moore<\/a> allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits with five strikeouts and one walk in 4.0 innings. Fellow junior righty Chris Knier<\/a> relieved Moore to start the fifth. In 2.0 innings out of the bullpen, Knier did not allow a hit with one strikeout and no walks.
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\nRecap and box score are available here: Game 1<\/a> | Game 2<\/a> | Game 3<\/a>
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\nUP NEXT: A WEEKEND AT HOWSER
\nThe Seminoles host Pitt from May 1-3. Friday and Saturday’s games are at 6 p.m. ET, while Sunday’s finale from Howser will commence at 1 p.m. Tickets are available at Seminoles.com\/Tickets<\/a> or by calling the FSU ticket office at 850-644-1830. Admission is free for all FSU students with their FSUID, with the student entrance at the right field gate at Haggard Plaza. All gates at Dick Howser Stadium will open 60 minutes prior to first pitch for every game in 2026.
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\nFor more information on Florida State baseball, check Seminoles.com for the latest news and scheduling information, and keep up with the team on social media through Twitter\/X<\/a> and Facebook<\/a> (@FSUBaseball) & Instagram<\/a> (@NoleBaseball).
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