Junior left-hander Cooper Whited pitches against UF on Apr. 9. (Trent Whitehead/V89 Sports)
The ACC schedule has yet to let up for Florida State, and that trend will continue this weekend.
The team is in Atlanta gearing up for their toughest challenge yet against the No. 3 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
The No. 5 ranked Seminoles are coming off a midweek loss at home to the Florida Gators. This past weekend, they secured their fourth ACC series win over the Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville.
The win marks the Nole’s third series victory over a ranked conference foe and their second on the road.
Florida State has won every conference series so far this season, beginning with a road sweep over No. 12 Wake Forest, then two home series wins over then-ranked No. 11 NC State and Duke before downing No.10 Virginia.
Head coach Link Jarrett says their success in ACC play has given his younger players’ confidence heading into the GT series, noting the experience the lineup had with velocity and octane from ACC arms.
“It’s a unique ballpark at Wake and then Virginia had all of those left-handed hitters that were so imposing, such a physical presence,” Jarrett said. “They had good weapons on the mound.”
Jarrett still says a series win over the Yellow Jackets will be a challenge.
“That doesn’t mean this is easy, what we’re staring down today,” Jarrett said. “But knowing that they’ve gone into that and have performed well does give them confidence entering this week.”
Georgia Tech, a preseason top-five team, has lived up to the hype so far this season, particularly at the plate. The Yellow Jackets rank first in the ACC in batting average, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and walks. The team averages 11 runs per game and the starting lineup is batting .300.
Georgia Tech is also first in the ACC with a 12-3 record while the Noles rank second at 9-3.
Where Florida State doesn’t match up offensively, they make up for on the mound. The Noles have statistically the best pitching staff in the conference, ranking the lowest in runs allowed, doubles and home runs allowed and opposing batting average.
Junior lefthander Wes Mendes has a 1.97 ERA through eight starts this season and is third in the ACC in strikeouts with 35.
Saturday and Sunday starters Trey Beard and Bryson Moore maintain a 3.98 ERA and 4.15 ERA respectively. Moore threw seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and one walk on Saturday against Virginia.
Jarrett says pitch execution will be important going into the weekend.
“That has been our carrying ticket so far as some of the things with the lineup continue to mature,” Jarrett said. “But efficiency, execution, put away capability when we have those moments to try to put away this group that’s so dynamic and experienced, you gotta find ways to finish some of these hitters off.”
Jarret also says the weekend starts will have to eliminate distractions while balancing the adrenaline they’ll have when they take the mound.
“The only thing we can do on the mound is execute pitches to the best of our ability and manage,” Jarrett said. “That doesn’t mean all strikes. Like at times, finishing people off is out of the strike zone, pitches that look like they’re strikes, and then end out of the zone.”
Jarrett also mentioned the defense, which has seen shakeups throughout the season amid injuries.
“We have we have athletic outfielders,” Jarrett said. “We’ve got sound, infield defense for the most part, and we have to operate that way. We’re going to contain this group. So that’s how I see it. I think our guys are ready to go.”
Jarrett says he is looking for the offense to reduce their chase rate this weekend as some of the younger and new guys continue to adjust to the increase in talent of ACC arms.
“I don’t know that I’ve seen a run of a velocity in secondary pitches like we’ve seen in the last six weeks of the season,” Jarrett said. “Really so, showing them some of their information that hopefully simplifies what appears to us as we watch the complicated look of the at bats and the indecisiveness and the recklessness at times that we feel. We’ve got to trim that a little bit.”
The series begins on Thursday at 7 p.m., continues Friday at 8 p.m. and concludes Saturday at 3 p.m. The first two games will be available on ACC Network with the finale streaming on ACC Network Extra.