Due to inclement weather in the area, the Florida State baseball team\u2019s ACC series opener against Pitt was postponed on Friday.<\/p>\n
The Seminoles and Panthers will now play a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The three-game series will conclude as scheduled on Sunday at 1 p.m. One ticket will be good for both games on Saturday.<\/p>\n
First Report<\/p>\n
With every series having a potential impact on postseason seeding, this weekend presents another important test for the Florida State baseball team.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an ACC series, so they\u2019re always tough. But when Mike Bell\u2019s Pittsburgh Panthers roll into Dick Howser Stadium today for a three-game set against the Seminoles, the former FSU pitcher and pitching coach will be bringing in one of the best hitting teams in the conference.<\/p>\n
Pitt is currently 28-15 overall and 10-11 in the ACC, and the Panthers are very much in contention for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. Clearly, a series win over the No. 14 Seminoles would go a long way in accomplishing that goal.<\/p>\n
And Florida State head coach Link Jarrett knows what\u2019s in store for his team \u2014 and specifically his pitching staff \u2014 this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look at the offensive numbers and what they\u2019ve done with the base-on-balls, the strikeouts, and the power and the output and the home runs, the batting averages,\u201d Jarrett said. \u201cThey know what they\u2019re doing, and it\u2019s an experienced team.\u201d<\/p>\n
And a good team. That\u2019s playing well coming into the weekend.<\/p>\n
The Panthers have won four games in a row, and while that might not sound like much, consider who those wins came against: They drummed No. 12 West Virginia 23-1 in the midweek and then followed that with a three-game sweep at home of No. 10 Virginia.<\/p>\n
During that four-game stretch, the Panthers have won two games by run-rule and averaged 12 runs per contest.<\/p>\n
Pitt is led by Lorenzo Carrier, who is currently hitting .393 with 16 home runs and 57 RBIs. Bell\u2019s squad has homered 87 times as a team (compared to 52 for FSU) and is currently slugging .571 overall, which is good for second in the ACC \u2014 behind Georgia Tech \u2014 and fifth in the entire country.<\/p>\n
The .321 team batting average is ninth best in the nation. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re very, very, very talented and very good,\u201d Jarrett said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s probably the hottest team in the country when you look at who they\u2019ve beaten and how they\u2019ve done it lately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jarrett admitted this series is going to feel different for him than most. Obviously, it\u2019s a big one for his team after getting swept by Stanford last weekend in Palo Alto, but it means a little more because of the guy in the other dugout.<\/p>\n
Jarrett has known Bell for decades and considers him a very good friend. In fact, Jarrett pointed out, he actually lives in the house that Bell built when he was the pitching coach at Florida State.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was in it for five days and got the job at Pitt,\u201d Jarrett said. \u201cNow, that\u2019s my home.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he reiterated multiple times how cool it is to be coaching against someone he has had such a long history with.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was at Flagler College starting out and coaching the JV team and he\u2019s at Florida Southern, we\u2019re talking about strenght and conditioning and laundry and driving the van and gassing the vans and what do you look for in a pitcher at this level,\u201d Jarrett said. \u201cSo, we\u2019ve had conversations for the last 25 years that have brought us to the point that now we square off in games of this magnitude. \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cWe fought to get through the industry to be in a position to where you\u2019re coaching in these games in the ACC. On this stage. So, it\u2019s really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s and Saturday\u2019s games are both scheduled for 6 p.m., and Sunday\u2019s game is set for 1 p.m. All three will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.<\/p>\n