After two days off, the Florida State baseball team returns to action in the ACC Tournament Friday morning in Charlotte.
The No. 5 seed Seminoles (40-14) and No. 4 seed Virginia (41-14) face off at Truist Field (11 a.m. on ACC Network) to determine which team wins Pool D and advances to the ACC Semifinal to face either North Carolina or Wake Forest.
UVA was one of three ACC teams didn't face during the regular season. FSU will now be tasked with trying to shut down a Cavaliers offense which leads the ACC in batting average (.342) and is second in the conference in home runs (112).
My Virginia preview story, highlighting its prolific offense
Because of this challenge, it works out very well that FSU has sophomore ace Jamie Arnold (9-3, 2.40 ERA) lined up to make his weekly start against Virginia with a spot in the semifinals on the line. Arnold got a nine-pitch save Tuesday vs. Georgia Tech on his scheduled bullpen day and now will make his final start before FSU hosts an NCAA Regional next weekend for the first time since 2018.
Virginia, on the other hand, used its ace, Evan Blanco Wednesday vs. GT. He's the only pitcher on their staff who has made more than seven starts this season. Instead, the Cavaliers will Elon transfer/senior righty Joe Savino (2-1, 2.00 ERA). He's thrown just 18 innings this season and didn't appear in his first game for the Cavaliers until early April. He's since eased into a larger workload, pitching five innings each of the last two weeks vs. NC State and Virginia Tech, allowing three runs on seven hits over those 10 innings.
FSU starting lineup
UVA starting lineup
I'll have updates here once the game gets underway.
The No. 5 seed Seminoles (40-14) and No. 4 seed Virginia (41-14) face off at Truist Field (11 a.m. on ACC Network) to determine which team wins Pool D and advances to the ACC Semifinal to face either North Carolina or Wake Forest.
UVA was one of three ACC teams didn't face during the regular season. FSU will now be tasked with trying to shut down a Cavaliers offense which leads the ACC in batting average (.342) and is second in the conference in home runs (112).
My Virginia preview story, highlighting its prolific offense
Because of this challenge, it works out very well that FSU has sophomore ace Jamie Arnold (9-3, 2.40 ERA) lined up to make his weekly start against Virginia with a spot in the semifinals on the line. Arnold got a nine-pitch save Tuesday vs. Georgia Tech on his scheduled bullpen day and now will make his final start before FSU hosts an NCAA Regional next weekend for the first time since 2018.
Virginia, on the other hand, used its ace, Evan Blanco Wednesday vs. GT. He's the only pitcher on their staff who has made more than seven starts this season. Instead, the Cavaliers will Elon transfer/senior righty Joe Savino (2-1, 2.00 ERA). He's thrown just 18 innings this season and didn't appear in his first game for the Cavaliers until early April. He's since eased into a larger workload, pitching five innings each of the last two weeks vs. NC State and Virginia Tech, allowing three runs on seven hits over those 10 innings.
FSU starting lineup
| 1 | cf | 18 Max Williams | L | .294 | |
| 2 | 3b | 24 Cam Smith | R | .402 | |
| 3 | rf | 22 James Tibbs III | L | .382 | |
| 4 | dh | 43 Marco Dinges | R | .309 | |
| 5 | lf | 7 Jaime Ferrer | R | .306 | |
| 6 | 1b | 32 Daniel Cantu | L | .317 | |
| 7 | ss | 1 Alex Lodise | R | .285 | |
| 8 | 2b | 3 Drew Faurot | B | .292 | |
| 9 | c | 25 McGwire Holbrook | R | .276 |
UVA starting lineup
| 1 | ss | 6 Griff O'Ferrall | R | .331 | |
| 2 | cf | 18 Bobby Whalen | R | .400 | |
| 3 | rf | 8 Casey Saucke | R | .356 | |
| 4 | 1b | 9 Henry Ford | R | .349 | |
| 5 | c | 28 Jacob Ference | R | .368 | |
| 6 | lf | 34 Harrison Didawick | L | .305 | |
| 7 | dh | 23 Ethan Anderson | B | .333 | |
| 8 | 2b | 2 Henry Godbout | R | .379 | |
| 9 | 3b | 5 Luke Hanson | R | .295 |
I'll have updates here once the game gets underway.
