3 Up, 3 Down: Diving into FSU baseball’s series win over No. 8 TCU

The Florida State Seminoles recorded their second series win in as many weekends. Last week, it was a sweep of James Madison — this weekend, the Noles took two of three from the eighth ranked TCU Horned Frogs. FSU won the first two games before dropping the finale down the stretch on Sunday.

3 Up

• Jackson Baumeister was a highly-ranked recruit when he arrived at Florida State last season, but he struggled piecing together a solid season, ending his freshman campaign with a 5.60 ERA over 19 appearances. Baumeister was named the Saturday starter to begin the season, but was bumped up this week to give Carson Montgomery extra rest. The sophomore answered the call, setting the tone for the weekend. He held TCU hitless through over half the game and picked up eight strikeouts along the way. If Baumeister is able to perform to his lofty high school ranking, FSU’s rotation should become a strength.
• Coming into this season, the Florida State offense looked to Jaime Ferrer to lead, and so far the sophomore hasn’t disappointed. In the wins over TCU, Ferrer went 6-10 with six RBI and five extra base hits, including two home runs. As Ferrer goes so does the Seminole offense.

• This Florida State team just looks different compared to recent iterations. Through the first two weeks of the season, the team has played with a different energy. Throw out an intangible and the team has displayed it. They’re having fun, showing grit, and battling through tough situations. Even in Sunday’s loss, the Seminoles fought through multiple jams on defense and almost pulled off the sweep.

3 Down

• LHP Jamie Arnold struggled for the second straight weekend. Lasting just 2.2 innings, the freshman labored to find the strike zone consistently. Although he only walked one, Arnold plunked two batters and ran up the count frequently, throwing 55 pitches. You can see his potential, as he induced several week grounders and can wipe out lefties, but he must improve his control to be a (positive) factor this season.
• The bullpen is young and inexperienced outside of their main horses (Wyatt Crowell and Conner Whittaker). Cro and Whitt’s combined lines this weekend: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 9 K. The rest of the bullpen: 6.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3 K. Andrew Armstrong was good at times, but the failure of the pen in game two taxed his arm, and he wasn’t as sharp Sunday. FSU’s pen will need more reliable arms to take a step forward.
• One could easily point out the strike outs as a major concern as FSU struck out 31 times over the three games series. But even with 14 Ks in game three, the Seminoles had an opportunity to win late in the game until the defense stumbled, once again. The defense committed five errors this weekend, and that’s with the official scorer ruling a few mistakes hits (home-cooking for the TCU batters). The early season defensive woes were on full display in game three which saw Florida State commit three total errors, leading to two unearned runs, which ultimately decided the game.

Up Next:

Florida State hosts USF on Wednesday at Dick Howser. The game will be at 5 PM.