Corvallis Super Regional: 4 Things to Know About Florida State Baseball
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FSU Easily Could've Been a Top-Eight National Seed
Less than three weeks ago, Link Jarrett's squad was ranked second in the country, before they ran into the buzzsaw that is current No. 1 North Carolina (NCBWA). The Tar Heels beat FSU three times in a span of ten days, delivering a big blow to the Noles' chances of hosting a Super Regional. Other than these losses to UNC, the Seminoles have had some impressive results recently, including a 14-7 win over Duke in the ACC tournament.
The Seminoles Have a Very Strong Starting Rotation
Led by top-five draft prospect Jamie Arnold, Florida State possesses one of the better starting rotations in all of college baseball. Arnold holds an 8-2 record as a starter this year, and has struck out 110 hitters in 78 innings pitched. Their No. 2 guy is Joey Volini, who holds an ERA under 4.0 in 80 innings and was listed on D1Baseball.com's list of top 100 college draft prospects.
The Noles Can Hit
As a team, FSU has hit 100 home runs so far this year. In addition, the Seminoles have seven players batting above .300 this season. Their leadoff man, Alex Lodise, is batting .405 and was named ACC Player of the Year.
Florida State Is Looking To Make Back-To-Back Omaha Trips
In coach Jarrett's second year at the helm last season, his Noles made it to the College World Series semifinals, where they were ousted by the eventual national champion Tennessee. Coming that close should provide an extra sense of motivation to get to championship series one year later.
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Ben Pahl is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in Portland, Oregon. His work covering college and professional sports has been featured by the Orange Media Network at Oregon State University as well as KBVR.fm. His other career stops in sports include the Portland Pickles baseball club and the NBA G-League's Rip City Remix.