No. 21 FSU baseball vs. Pitt game thread: Saturday, 8:00 PM

Florida State baseball got off to a slow start in ACC play, as they were shut out by Pitt last night. FSU struck out nine times and was 0-10 with runners on base. The Seminoles will look for an offensive bounce back in a prime-time matchup tonight. The offense was awful on Friday night, but the ‘Noles also posted their best pitching and fielding performances of the season. They’ll look to keep those trends going tonight with their freshman phenom on the bump.

Here are today’s probables.

Probable Starters: RHP Matt Gilbertson (1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP) vs. RHP Carson Montgomery (0.00 ERA, 4.0 IP)

How to watch: ACC Network

Carson Montgomery struggled through the first inning of his collegiate career, but cruised for his next three. The freshman showed his composure after a long first inning, as he went four innings and allowed zero earned runs against UNF. He struck out four batters, while allowing three hits and two walks. The freshman sat in the 93-95 MPH range, topping out at 96 MPH. He showed consistency with his slider and cutter, while struggling to find the feel for his changeup. The freshman will need to be more consistent with his fastball command on Saturday, which would open up his off-speed to be more dominant against Pitt. Finding his changeup will let him be more efficient against left-handed hitters.

Matt Gilbertson will get the ball for the Panthers. Gilbertson is a strike-thrower. In 29 IP at Pitt, he’s walked just six batters. He got hit around a bit last year, giving up a .271 batting average against, but limited the damage with a minimal ERA of 1.12. He started his 2021 campaign with five innings of one-run ball. He gave up four hits and struck out three. Gilbertson is another JUCO-product, posting an ERA under 2.50 over 125 innings at the College of Southern Nevada.

Here’s FSU’s lineup:

First pitch is scheduled for 8:00 PM from Dick Howser. The game will be broadcasted on ACC Network. We will have updates in the game thread below, and I’ll have updates on my twitter as well from the park (@brettpn).