The Seminoles need five more wins to make it Omaha and that starts tonight at 6PM in Dick Howser Stadium. We have previewd the field of 64, the regional opponets and each game in great detail, you can get caught up in our stream. Georgia Sourthen is a difficult four seed and the Noles will be tested with tonight's winner facing Kennesaw State who won 1-0 earlier against Alabama.
OFFENSE:
| 2014 SEASON STATISTICS - OVERALL | ||||||||||||
| TEAM | GP | SB % | K% | BB% | Rsco% | R/G | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BABIP | IsoP |
| Florida State | 58 | 79.2% | 17.6% | 13.2% | 39.6% | 6.7 | 0.278 | 0.394 | 0.387 | 0.781 | 0.335 | 0.109 |
| Georgia Southern | 60 | 72.7% | 17.4% | 10.0% | 40.9% | 6.7 | 0.289 | 0.372 | 0.432 | 0.804 | 0.333 | 0.143 |
| as of 5/29/14 | ||||||||||||
As mentioned in the regional preview article both of these teams have extremely potent offenses. There is no questioning the Seminoles but just how much of the Eagles numbers are inflated because they play in a weak conference. If you compare the pitching the Southern Conference walks over four batters per nine whereas the ACC is at 3.6 while the strikeout to walk ratio is at 2.1 for the ACC and 1.8 for the Southern. The number that really stands out is the amount of homeruns allowed, Southern Conference pitchers surrendered a homerun every 55 at bats, that is nearly twice as frequent as the ACC who only allowed a homerun every 102 at bats. I don't want to discredit this offense because I am sure they are talented but have they have not played at the highest level like the Seminoles have.
Florida State is led by the ACC Player of the Year DJ Stewart (.348/.469/.561) and are protected by fellow first teamers in John Nogowski (.311/.433/.451) and Jose Brizuela (.325/.407/.453). The Noles are constantly on base as they lead the nation in walks, which constantly pressures opposing pitchers lending them to score as many runs as they do.
Georgia Southern is currently tied for fourth in the country with an impressive 59 homeruns this season. There are seven players on the lineup that have hit at least five homeruns on the season, for reference Florida State only has two. Aaron Mizell (.313/.390/.545) and Stryker Brown (.325/.409/.522) are the team's best bats who have combined to hit 23 homeruns and look to take advantage of the short right field fence that favors left handed hitters.
| 2014 SEASON STATISTICS - FLORIDA STATE | ||||||||||||||
| TEAM | GP | GS | PA | SB % | K% | BB% | Rsco% | R/G | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BABIP | IsoP |
| John Nogowski | 58 | 57 | 261 | 50.0% | 10.0% | 16.1% | 38.9% | 0.8 | 0.311 | 0.433 | 0.451 | 0.884 | 0.326 | 0.141 |
| Jose Brizuela | 58 | 58 | 250 | 86.7% | 14.8% | 8.4% | 42.9% | 0.8 | 0.325 | 0.407 | 0.453 | 0.860 | 0.375 | 0.127 |
| Justin Gonzalez | 54 | 54 | 249 | 60.0% | 26.5% | 18.5% | 39.4% | 0.8 | 0.246 | 0.410 | 0.398 | 0.808 | 0.352 | 0.152 |
| John Sansone | 58 | 58 | 246 | 75.0% | 23.2% | 11.4% | 40.2% | 0.6 | 0.228 | 0.365 | 0.326 | 0.691 | 0.300 | 0.098 |
| DJ Stewart | 51 | 51 | 239 | 80.0% | 12.6% | 15.9% | 36.2% | 0.9 | 0.348 | 0.469 | 0.561 | 1.030 | 0.374 | 0.214 |
| Josh Delph | 56 | 51 | 231 | 50.0% | 13.0% | 14.7% | 37.8% | 0.6 | 0.275 | 0.393 | 0.360 | 0.753 | 0.323 | 0.085 |
| Danny De La Calle | 56 | 56 | 205 | 100.0% | 16.6% | 8.3% | 42.2% | 0.5 | 0.229 | 0.322 | 0.247 | 0.569 | 0.279 | 0.018 |
| Ben DeLuzio | 49 | 48 | 200 | 88.9% | 22.0% | 9.5% | 46.5% | 0.7 | 0.287 | 0.369 | 0.407 | 0.776 | 0.373 | 0.120 |
| Casey Smit | 53 | 35 | 181 | 75.0% | 17.7% | 18.2% | 31.2% | 0.5 | 0.300 | 0.436 | 0.336 | 0.771 | 0.373 | 0.036 |
| Brett Knief | 53 | 40 | 179 | 100.0% | 17.3% | 8.9% | 40.7% | 0.5 | 0.270 | 0.353 | 0.342 | 0.695 | 0.325 | 0.072 |
| Jameis Winston | 23 | 5 | 48 | #DIV/0! | 18.8% | 16.7% | 42.9% | 0.3 | 0.132 | 0.298 | 0.184 | 0.482 | 0.172 | 0.053 |
| Gage West | 25 | 4 | 36 | #DIV/0! | 25.0% | 8.3% | 66.7% | 0.2 | 0.167 | 0.222 | 0.467 | 0.689 | 0.136 | 0.300 |
| Ladson Montgomery | 27 | 2 | 31 | #DIV/0! | 9.7% | 12.9% | 21.4% | 0.1 | 0.320 | 0.452 | 0.360 | 0.812 | 0.364 | 0.040 |
| Hank Truluck | 21 | 3 | 27 | 100.0% | 22.2% | 25.9% | 21.4% | 0.1 | 0.316 | 0.519 | 0.368 | 0.887 | 0.462 | 0.053 |
| Nick Graganella | 32 | 0 | 16 | #DIV/0! | 50.0% | 18.8% | ##### | 0.2 | 0.231 | 0.375 | 0.231 | 0.606 | 0.600 | 0.000 |
| Lee Howard | 7 | 0 | 5 | #DIV/0! | 40.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0 | 0.200 | 0.200 | 0.200 | 0.400 | 0.333 | 0.000 |
| Matt Mulroy | 4 | 0 | 3 | #DIV/0! | 0.0% | 0.0% | ##### | 0.5 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Gage Smith | 2 | 0 | 2 | #DIV/0! | 50.0% | 0.0% | ##### | 0.0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Peter Miller | 2 | 0 | 1 | #DIV/0! | 0.0% | 0.0% | ##### | 0.0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| TOTALS | 58 | 58 | 2410 | 86.4% | 17.6% | 13.2% | 39.6% | 6.7 | 0.278 | 0.394 | 0.387 | 0.781 | 0.335 | 0.109 |
| as of 5/29/14 | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 SEASON STATISTICS - GEORGIA SOUTHERN | ||||||||||||||
| TEAM | GP | GS | PA | SB % | K% | BB% | Rsco% | R/G | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BABIP | IsoP |
| Mizell, Aaron | 58 | 58 | 272 | 88.9% | 13.6% | 8.5% | 31.2% | 0.7 | 0.313 | 0.390 | 0.545 | 0.935 | 0.317 | 0.232 |
| Adams, Kody | 55 | 54 | 250 | 78.6% | 16.0% | 10.0% | 43.3% | 0.8 | 0.304 | 0.389 | 0.444 | 0.833 | 0.355 | 0.140 |
| Morgan, Ben | 56 | 53 | 244 | 75.9% | 16.4% | 12.3% | 40.2% | 0.7 | 0.286 | 0.383 | 0.414 | 0.797 | 0.329 | 0.128 |
| Brown, Stryker | 57 | 56 | 243 | 68.8% | 8.2% | 11.9% | 40.4% | 0.8 | 0.325 | 0.409 | 0.522 | 0.931 | 0.320 | 0.196 |
| Griffin, Chase | 56 | 53 | 237 | 66.7% | 16.5% | 8.9% | 37.2% | 0.6 | 0.266 | 0.345 | 0.377 | 0.721 | 0.311 | 0.111 |
| Cleveland, Ryan | 52 | 52 | 233 | 60.0% | 21.0% | 13.7% | 37.5% | 0.7 | 0.254 | 0.369 | 0.430 | 0.799 | 0.305 | 0.176 |
| Chapman, Garrett | 56 | 56 | 230 | 60.0% | 22.2% | 5.2% | 42.7% | 0.8 | 0.346 | 0.387 | 0.472 | 0.859 | 0.427 | 0.126 |
| Busby, Dalton | 50 | 50 | 209 | 77.8% | 16.7% | 6.7% | 46.0% | 0.6 | 0.274 | 0.320 | 0.392 | 0.713 | 0.314 | 0.118 |
| Thomas, Hunter | 37 | 22 | 111 | 80.0% | 22.5% | 14.4% | 29.3% | 0.4 | 0.256 | 0.382 | 0.344 | 0.726 | 0.338 | 0.089 |
| Palmer, Garren | 36 | 21 | 108 | 25.0% | 23.1% | 4.6% | 46.9% | 0.6 | 0.295 | 0.349 | 0.526 | 0.875 | 0.343 | 0.232 |
| Palmer, Aaron | 20 | 20 | 86 | 66.7% | 19.8% | 23.3% | 31.7% | 0.7 | 0.306 | 0.482 | 0.355 | 0.837 | 0.413 | 0.048 |
| Brazil, C.J. | 25 | 15 | 68 | 100.0% | 13.2% | 5.9% | 73.7% | 0.6 | 0.217 | 0.284 | 0.233 | 0.517 | 0.250 | 0.017 |
| Black, Josh | 30 | 16 | 57 | 75.0% | 29.8% | 10.5% | 63.2% | 0.4 | 0.260 | 0.339 | 0.280 | 0.619 | 0.394 | 0.020 |
| Baker, Cal | 10 | 8 | 34 | 100.0% | 23.5% | 11.8% | 62.5% | 0.5 | 0.107 | 0.242 | 0.107 | 0.350 | 0.150 | 0.000 |
| Dodds, Robbie | 15 | 5 | 32 | 100.0% | 15.6% | 3.1% | 60.0% | 0.4 | 0.290 | 0.313 | 0.387 | 0.700 | 0.346 | 0.097 |
| Streicher, Kyle | 15 | 1 | 12 | 100.0% | 41.7% | 16.7% | ##### | 0.2 | 0.000 | 0.250 | 0.000 | 0.250 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Williams, Wes | 2 | 0 | 2 | #DIV/0! | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.5 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.500 | 3.500 | 1.000 | 1.500 |
| Richman, Jason | 45 | 1 | 1 | #DIV/0! | ##### | 0.0% | ##### | 0.0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | ##### | 0.000 |
| TOTALS | 60 | 60 | 2429 | 78.6% | 17.4% | 10.0% | 40.9% | 6.7 | 0.289 | 0.372 | 0.432 | 0.804 | 0.333 | 0.143 |
| as of 5/29/14 | ||||||||||||||
PITCHING:
| 2014 SEASON STATISTICS - OVERALL | |||||||||||||
| TEAM | G | IP | ERA | WHIP | H/9 | K/9 | BB/9 | K:BB | FIP | xERA | BABIP | BAA | OPSa |
| Florida State | 54 | 525.0 | 3.02 | 1.20 | 7.83 | 7.20 | 3.00 | 2.40 | 3.58 | 2.96 | 0.287 | 0.236 | 0.627 |
| Georgia Southern | 60 | 538.0 | 3.16 | 1.28 | 8.60 | 7.75 | 2.96 | 2.62 | 3.75 | 3.52 | 0.307 | 0.251 | 0.671 |
| as of 5/29/14 | |||||||||||||
The Seminoles received some fantastic news this week as starting pitcher Brandon Leibrandt (39.1 IP/1.02 WHIP/6.86 K/9) will see action for the first time in two months. While he probably won't start seeing him pitch in any capacity is a huge pitch for the Noles chances of reaching Omaha. Luke Weaver (101.1 IP/1.04 WHIP/7.19 K/9) will more than likely be a top 50 draft pick next week while reliever Gage Smith (60.1 IP/0.94 WHIP/4.62 K/9) can be used in just about every situation. This staff is coming off a great ACC tournament in which they allowed 6 earned runs on 21 hits in 26 innings striking out 23 and issuing 8 walks.
There are some quality arms on the Eagles staff, they have the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year in right hander Josh Wirsu (92.2 IP/1.12 WHIP/8.55 K/9) and a projected early round pick in Sam Howard (86.2 IP/1.12 WHIP/8.72 K/9) , both have been used as the ace this season. If they can throw deep in the game Georgia Southern can turn the ball over to Jason Richman (84.2 IP/1.12 WHIP/8.40 K/9) who leads the nation with 46 appearances.
PROBABLES:
| PITCHING PROBABLES - GAME 2 - Florida State vs. Georgia Southern | ||||||||||||||
| TEAM | G | GS | IP | ERA | WHIP | H/9 | K/9 | BB/9 | K:BB | HR/9 | FIP | BABIP | BAA | OPSa |
| Sam Howard - GSU | 15 | 14 | 86.7 | 2.60 | 1.12 | 8.20 | 8.72 | 1.87 | 4.67 | 0.52 | 2.96 | 0.311 | 0.245 | 0.619 |
| Mike Compton - FSU | 14 | 14 | 82.3 | 3.06 | 1.29 | 9.62 | 5.47 | 1.97 | 2.78 | 0.33 | 3.48 | 0.313 | 0.272 | 0.679 |
Georgia Southern has the conference pitcher of the year on their staff, he is not starting tonight's game and rightfully so. He is not the best pitcher on this team, that honor goes to left hander Sam Howard who is an excellent prospect who will probably be drafted in the first few rounds of the amateur draft next week. The first stat that jumps of the page is his strikeout to walk ratio which is very high for a pitcher who strikes out as many as he does, not walking hitters will be key for him. Other numbers that stand out are 53, 59, 74, 101, 141, 168, 173, 187, 196, 210, 221, 292, 298, those are the RPI's of the teams he has faced this season, not a single one made the tournament. Who you play matters, last season I wrote an article about Kyle McGowin and who he faced all season, McGowin struggled and Savannah State lost. Now I will absoutley concede that Georgia Southern is much better than Savannah State but to think that Howard will shut down Noles hitters because of his season's sucess season be a tough task.
Florida State's Mike Compton has a tough task ahead of him tonight as he faces an very strong lineup. The right hander is by no means a power arm with a lot of strikeouts, he relies on throwing a heavy ball and allowing runners to put the ball in play and trust his defense. This type of pitchers allows a high number of hits and Compton can get himself into trouble if he leaves the ball elevated. Compton has pitched at least five innings and allowed two or less runs in his last six starts, an outing like that today would be just fine. If he does get into trouble early look for Gage Smith or possibly Billy Strode who will be available from the pen if needed. Mike Martin, Jr. said today that Brandon Leibrandt is good to go and is available to start, he also mentioned that Jameis Winston could throw three straight days if needed and depending on the situation.
| 2014 SEASON STATISTICS - FLORIDA STATE | ||||||||||||||
| TEAM | G | GS | IP | ERA | WHIP | H/9 | K/9 | BB/9 | K:BB | HR/9 | FIP | BABIP | BAA | OPSa |
| Luke Weaver | 15 | 15 | 101.3 | 2.66 | 1.04 | 7.37 | 7.19 | 1.95 | 3.68 | 0.62 | 3.49 | 0.266 | 0.224 | 0.582 |
| Mike Compton | 14 | 14 | 82.3 | 3.06 | 1.29 | 9.62 | 5.47 | 1.97 | 2.78 | 0.33 | 3.48 | 0.313 | 0.272 | 0.679 |
| Gage Smith | 38 | 0 | 60.3 | 2.09 | 0.94 | 7.76 | 4.62 | 0.75 | 6.20 | 0.15 | 3.06 | 0.268 | 0.234 | 0.548 |
| Billy Strode | 23 | 4 | 45.3 | 2.78 | 1.21 | 6.95 | 8.93 | 3.97 | 2.25 | 0.00 | 3.16 | 0.318 | 0.226 | 0.582 |
| Peter Miller | 17 | 7 | 42.0 | 5.14 | 1.64 | 8.14 | 11.36 | 6.64 | 1.71 | 0.64 | 4.11 | 0.354 | 0.247 | 0.725 |
| Brandon Leibrandt | 6 | 6 | 39.3 | 1.83 | 1.02 | 7.09 | 6.86 | 2.06 | 3.33 | 0.46 | 3.32 | 0.264 | 0.218 | 0.608 |
| Bryant Holtmann | 14 | 6 | 36.7 | 3.68 | 1.17 | 7.61 | 7.12 | 2.95 | 2.42 | 0.49 | 3.53 | 0.271 | 0.228 | 0.610 |
| Jameis Winston | 23 | 0 | 30.7 | 1.17 | 0.78 | 5.28 | 8.51 | 1.76 | 4.83 | 0.00 | 2.12 | 0.220 | 0.164 | 0.396 |
| Dylan Silva | 17 | 1 | 23.7 | 1.90 | 1.27 | 6.08 | 10.65 | 5.32 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 3.59 | 0.291 | 0.195 | 0.630 |
| Taylor Blatch | 14 | 2 | 17.3 | 6.23 | 1.85 | 6.75 | 5.71 | 9.87 | 0.58 | 0.52 | 7.05 | 0.235 | 0.210 | 0.748 |
| Alec Byrd | 9 | 1 | 14.7 | 3.68 | 1.50 | 8.59 | 7.98 | 4.91 | 1.63 | 1.23 | 5.26 | 0.300 | 0.259 | 0.804 |
| Brandon Johnson | 11 | 0 | 13.7 | 1.98 | 1.32 | 9.22 | 5.93 | 2.63 | 2.25 | 0.00 | 2.98 | 0.280 | 0.241 | 0.544 |
| Kenny Burkhead | 10 | 2 | 10.7 | 8.44 | 2.06 | 14.35 | 6.75 | 4.22 | 1.60 | 0.84 | 4.55 | 0.432 | 0.370 | 1.018 |
| Jim Voyles | 5 | 0 | 6.7 | 4.05 | 1.35 | 9.45 | 4.05 | 2.70 | 1.50 | 1.35 | 6.27 | 0.286 | 0.280 | 0.779 |
| TOTALS | 58 | 58 | 524.7 | 3.02 | 1.20 | 7.84 | 7.20 | 3.00 | 2.40 | 0.39 | 3.58 | 0.287 | 0.236 | 0.627 |
| as of 5/29/14 | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 SEASON STATISTICS - GEORGIA SOUTHERN | ||||||||||||||
| TEAM | G | GS | IP | ERA | WHIP | H/9 | K/9 | BB/9 | K:BB | HR/9 | FIP | BABIP | BAA | OPSa |
| Wirsu, Josh | 15 | 15 | 92.7 | 2.33 | 1.12 | 6.70 | 8.55 | 3.40 | 2.51 | 0.39 | 3.41 | 0.258 | 0.201 | 0.542 |
| Howard, Sam | 15 | 14 | 86.7 | 2.60 | 1.12 | 8.20 | 8.72 | 1.87 | 4.67 | 0.52 | 2.96 | 0.311 | 0.245 | 0.619 |
| Richman, Jason | 45 | 1 | 84.7 | 1.06 | 1.12 | 8.40 | 7.65 | 1.70 | 4.50 | 0.21 | 2.84 | 0.306 | 0.242 | 0.614 |
| McCall, Matt | 38 | 3 | 64.3 | 4.20 | 1.23 | 8.25 | 8.25 | 2.80 | 2.95 | 0.84 | 4.10 | 0.303 | 0.248 | 0.720 |
| Frederick, Ryan | 22 | 10 | 51.3 | 3.68 | 1.32 | 9.29 | 6.84 | 2.63 | 2.60 | 0.88 | 4.45 | 0.310 | 0.268 | 0.748 |
| Alonzo, Eric | 26 | 3 | 50.0 | 3.78 | 1.30 | 9.18 | 7.02 | 2.52 | 2.79 | 0.54 | 3.84 | 0.310 | 0.260 | 0.674 |
| Jackson, Will | 13 | 5 | 30.7 | 3.52 | 1.40 | 10.27 | 6.16 | 2.35 | 2.63 | 0.59 | 3.78 | 0.337 | 0.289 | 0.743 |
| Sheppard, Tripp | 22 | 0 | 20.7 | 5.23 | 1.55 | 10.89 | 6.10 | 3.05 | 2.00 | 0.87 | 4.92 | 0.354 | 0.309 | 0.823 |
| Middour, Will | 7 | 7 | 19.7 | 5.95 | 1.98 | 10.53 | 6.41 | 7.32 | 0.88 | 0.92 | 6.67 | 0.339 | 0.299 | 0.918 |
| Fagan, Avery | 9 | 1 | 13.0 | 2.08 | 1.46 | 9.00 | 9.69 | 4.15 | 2.33 | 0.00 | 2.88 | 0.333 | 0.245 | 0.579 |
| Pressey, Caleb | 9 | 1 | 10.0 | 10.80 | 2.90 | 16.20 | 6.30 | 9.90 | 0.64 | 0.00 | 5.62 | 0.462 | 0.391 | 0.952 |
| Yelverton, Byron | 9 | 0 | 6.3 | 2.84 | 1.42 | 5.68 | 4.26 | 7.11 | 0.60 | 0.00 | 5.79 | 0.190 | 0.190 | 0.593 |
| Riley, Patrick | 3 | 0 | 4.0 | 2.25 | 1.75 | 4.50 | 6.75 | 11.25 | 0.60 | 0.00 | 5.67 | 0.200 | 0.154 | 0.543 |
| Kelly, Adam | 2 | 0 | 2.0 | 4.50 | 1.00 | 9.00 | 13.50 | 0.00 | ##### | 4.50 | 6.92 | 0.250 | 0.250 | 0.875 |
| Taylor, Clint | 2 | 0 | 1.3 | 13.50 | 2.25 | 13.50 | 20.26 | 6.75 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 1.17 | 0.667 | 0.333 | 0.929 |
| TOTALS | 60 | 60 | 537.3 | 3.17 | 1.29 | 8.61 | 7.76 | 2.96 | 2.62 | 0.54 | 3.75 | 0.307 | 0.251 | 0.671 |
| as of 5/29/14 | ||||||||||||||
COVERAGE:
All of your coverage links can be found in this easy access site provided by Florida State. We will have you covered with updates in this thread but we cannot give you a play by play due to NCAA rules. Please remember not to post any picture or embed tweets.
Florida State is completely healthy and is on top of their game right now, given this and Georgia Southern's lack of competition the Noles should be victorious. See everyone at 6PM
Go Noles!