3 things to know before Florida State baseball's series against Wake Forest
The 2023 regular season is coming to a close for Florida State as it prepares to host consensus No. 1 Wake Forest in an ACC series starting Friday.
With FSU stringing together four straight wins and "playing well," according to head coach Link Jarrett, can it pull off a shocker this weekend?
Friday's first pitch is a 6 p.m. with all three games being broadcast on ACC Network Extra and 100.7 FM. Here are three things you should know before this weekend's showdown.
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Hot streaks
While Wake Forest has jumped to the top of the national rankings, FSU has been on an important upswing, too, considering the program's struggles this season. The Seminoles have won four straight, winning last weekend's series against Mercer, and picking up the Tuesday game against Jacksonville. It's their longest winning streak since opening the season at 6-0.
Freshman DeAmez Ross has had the big bat in the last two games for the Seminoles, going 2-for-5 Sunday against Mercer and 3-for-3 against Jacksonville. FSU has also homered six times in its last four outings, with freshman Titan Kamaka hitting a third of those.
Wake Forest has had no trouble hitting the ball this season. It ranks third in the ACC in batting with a .303 team average compared to FSU's .278, which is ranked 11th. However, in its last four, the Seminoles have batted at .328 as a team.
Demons on the mound
The Demon Deacons' success can be attributed to their defense and pitching. They lead the ACC and the nation in pitching with a combined ERA of 2.51, compared to FSU's 5.96, which is 12th in the conference. Wake Forest has only allowed more than five runs in one of its last 10 games, which was an 11-9 loss to Boston College.
Its pitching group of Seth Keener, Rhett Lowder, Sean Sullivan, and Josh Hartle rank spots one through four in the ACC in fewest runs allowed this season. Out of its four leading pitchers, Keener and Hartle were the last to see action in a 4-2 win over Boston College on May 7. Hartle picked up the win, allowing one run on six hits and striking out eight over seven innings.
The Seminoles will need to get hits wherever they can find them as Wake Forest doesn't just boast the lowest ERA in the conference, but in the nation at 2.56, which is a full run below second-place Tennessee. It has also limited its opponents to 6.55 hits per game.
Comfort vs. need to win
Wake Forest enters the weekend series on top of just about every ranking, in the conference and nationally. In the ACC standings, it's 18-5, four games ahead of second-place Clemson in the division and Duke in the overall standings.
FSU needs wins to have a chance to compete in the postseason.
It sits in last place in the conference standings, two spots outside of the 12th-place seed to qualify for the ACC Tournament. No. 13 Louisville is three games ahead and so is 12th-place Pittsburgh, with one less loss. While Pitt plays Miami this weekend and Louisville faces Virginia, two of the better teams in the ACC, the Seminoles have the highest hill to climb.
Two wins would keep them in the race for that final spot, but that could be a challenge as Wake Forest has not dropped a conference series this season. However, both Louisville and Pitt have stolen a win from the Demon Deacons this season.
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics and prep sports for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 3 things to know as Florida State Seminoles baseball hosts Wake Forest
