For the first time in 12 years, the Florida State baseball team is one of the last four teams standing.
With consecutive wins in elimination games vs. ACC foes Virginia and North Carolina Sunday and Tuesday, the Seminoles are making their first appearance in the College World Series Semifinals since 2012 on Wednesday at 3 p.m. vs. No. 1 overall seed Tennessee (ESPN).
For FSU, it'll be a chance at revenge after the Volunteers plated four runs in the bottom of the ninth and used a controversial check-swing call to beat the Seminoles 12-11 in both teams' CWS opener Friday night. FSU would need to beat Tennessee in back-to-back games in order to knock out the Volunteers and advance to the CWS Championship Series while the Volunteers need just one win to advance.
"Can't wait. They're really good. They're really good..." FSU head coach Link Jarrett said about the rematch vs. Tennessee after Tuesday's win over UNC. "That game was very close to being pendulum swung our way and it did not. It's tough...They're really good. There's no wiggle room in the lineup. They have a variety of arms. They're talented. They've been here. They played in this stadium a lot. So excited. I recognize the difficulty of beating that team. It takes everything you've got. You have to finish. You have to defend. You have to execute pitches. And you have to be versatile and compete offensively to figure out a way to do it."
Through three games in Omaha, FSU's offense has been producing at an exceptional rate. The Seminoles' 27 runs in three CWS games are already the most an ACC team has ever scored in a single year in Omaha and third-most any team has scored since the College World Series moved to its new stadium, Charles Schwab Field, in 2011. FSU's 10.6 runs per game in the NCAA Tournament are the most of any team.
That FSU has produced so much in the CWS with minimal impact from its best hitters speaks to the depth of this lineup. In three games in Omaha, James Tibbs III and Cam Smith have combined for four hits in 23 at-bats with two total RBI. They've walked a combined nine times in three games so it's not like they have been a complete black hole, but still, they haven't yet looked like their powerful selves yet in the CWS. For FSU's sake, Wednesday would be an ideal moment for that to change.
FSU has announced it will start freshman right-handed pitcher John Abraham (5-1, 4.24 ERA over 34 innings). He's thrown just once in the NCAA Tournament, tossing one scoreless inning vs. UCF in the regional back on June 2. It'll be his 25th appearance and third start of the season.
While Abraham had some struggles early in the season, he's allowed just five earned runs over 18.1 innings (2.45 ERA) over his last 14 appearances with 23 strikeouts to 17 walks. Abraham has maxed out at 3.2 innings this season, throwing 3+ innings just three times this season. As such, he's likely to be an opener much like Andrew Armstrong was on Tuesday.
Tennessee, on the other hand, has announced it will start senior LHP Zander Sechrist (4-1, 3.26 ERA over 66.1 innings) for Wednesday's game. Sechrist became the Volunteers' third starter as the season progressed. Over his last four starts, he's allowed just two earned runs on 18 hits over 23 innings.
FSU lineup
Tennessee lineup
Vols are having to DH their centerfielder Hunter Ensley today after he suffered an injury Sunday vs. UNC. Kavares Tears, who had been their right fielder, moves to center to replace him.
With consecutive wins in elimination games vs. ACC foes Virginia and North Carolina Sunday and Tuesday, the Seminoles are making their first appearance in the College World Series Semifinals since 2012 on Wednesday at 3 p.m. vs. No. 1 overall seed Tennessee (ESPN).
For FSU, it'll be a chance at revenge after the Volunteers plated four runs in the bottom of the ninth and used a controversial check-swing call to beat the Seminoles 12-11 in both teams' CWS opener Friday night. FSU would need to beat Tennessee in back-to-back games in order to knock out the Volunteers and advance to the CWS Championship Series while the Volunteers need just one win to advance.
"Can't wait. They're really good. They're really good..." FSU head coach Link Jarrett said about the rematch vs. Tennessee after Tuesday's win over UNC. "That game was very close to being pendulum swung our way and it did not. It's tough...They're really good. There's no wiggle room in the lineup. They have a variety of arms. They're talented. They've been here. They played in this stadium a lot. So excited. I recognize the difficulty of beating that team. It takes everything you've got. You have to finish. You have to defend. You have to execute pitches. And you have to be versatile and compete offensively to figure out a way to do it."
Through three games in Omaha, FSU's offense has been producing at an exceptional rate. The Seminoles' 27 runs in three CWS games are already the most an ACC team has ever scored in a single year in Omaha and third-most any team has scored since the College World Series moved to its new stadium, Charles Schwab Field, in 2011. FSU's 10.6 runs per game in the NCAA Tournament are the most of any team.
That FSU has produced so much in the CWS with minimal impact from its best hitters speaks to the depth of this lineup. In three games in Omaha, James Tibbs III and Cam Smith have combined for four hits in 23 at-bats with two total RBI. They've walked a combined nine times in three games so it's not like they have been a complete black hole, but still, they haven't yet looked like their powerful selves yet in the CWS. For FSU's sake, Wednesday would be an ideal moment for that to change.
FSU has announced it will start freshman right-handed pitcher John Abraham (5-1, 4.24 ERA over 34 innings). He's thrown just once in the NCAA Tournament, tossing one scoreless inning vs. UCF in the regional back on June 2. It'll be his 25th appearance and third start of the season.
While Abraham had some struggles early in the season, he's allowed just five earned runs over 18.1 innings (2.45 ERA) over his last 14 appearances with 23 strikeouts to 17 walks. Abraham has maxed out at 3.2 innings this season, throwing 3+ innings just three times this season. As such, he's likely to be an opener much like Andrew Armstrong was on Tuesday.
Tennessee, on the other hand, has announced it will start senior LHP Zander Sechrist (4-1, 3.26 ERA over 66.1 innings) for Wednesday's game. Sechrist became the Volunteers' third starter as the season progressed. Over his last four starts, he's allowed just two earned runs on 18 hits over 23 innings.
FSU lineup
| 1 | cf | 18 Max Williams | L | 0-0 | .308 |
| 2 | 3b | 24 Cam Smith | R | 0-0 | .392 |
| 3 | rf | 22 James Tibbs III | L | 0-0 | .364 |
| 4 | dh | 43 Marco Dinges | R | 0-0 | .325 |
| 5 | lf | 7 Jaime Ferrer | R | 0-0 | .323 |
| 6 | 1b | 32 Daniel Cantu | L | 0-0 | .309 |
| 7 | ss | 1 Alex Lodise | R | 0-0 | .280 |
| 8 | 2b | 3 Drew Faurot | B | 0-0 | .290 |
| 9 | c | 20 Jaxson West | L | 0-0 | .273 |
Tennessee lineup
| 1 | 2b | 1 Christian Moore | R | 0-0 | .384 |
| 2 | 1b | 25 Blake Burke | L | 0-0 | .378 |
| 3 | 3b | 11 Billy Amick | R | 0-0 | .311 |
| 4 | lf | 8 Dylan Dreiling | L | 0-0 | .330 |
| 5 | dh | 9 Hunter Ensley | R | 0-0 | .286 |
| 6 | cf | 21 Kavares Tears | L | 0-0 | .335 |
| 7 | ss | 23 Dean Curley | R | 0-0 | .273 |
| 8 | rf | 13 Reese Chapman | L | 0-0 | .287 |
| 9 | c | 10 Cal Stark | R | 0-0 | .218 |
Vols are having to DH their centerfielder Hunter Ensley today after he suffered an injury Sunday vs. UNC. Kavares Tears, who had been their right fielder, moves to center to replace him.
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