FSU Baseball: Noles Should Feel Good About Hosting Regional

Earning a national seed still seems like a long shot at this point for Florida State, but after two splendid performances at the ACC Tournament, the Seminoles should feel very good about their chances of hosting an NCAA Regional.

FSU kicked off the ACC Tournament in Durham with a come-from-behind 7-3 victory over N.C. State, thanks to four runs in the eighth inning on Wednesday. It followed that up by knocking off Georgia Tech 6-1 on Thursday behind a dominating pitching performance from Cole Sands and the Seminole bullpen.

Coming in to the ACC Tournament, the Seminoles had dropped six of eight and owned the look of a team squarely on the bubble when it came to hosting a regional. Florida State had fallen to as low as 18th in the polls released Monday and on Tuesday, Baseball America’s projected field of 64 didn’t include FSU as a regional host for the first time this season.

After consecutive wins over teams with top-20 RPIs however, the Seminoles seem to be in pretty good shape. FSU itself, currently has an RPI of 13 and a top-15 strength of schedule.

Florida State will also have the chance to improve its current standing over the weekend. The Seminoles will face their rival and the ACC’s top-seed Miami on Saturday with a trip to the ACC Championship on the line. If FSU is able to get the victory, it could see Louisville for the conference title. The Cardinals and Hurricanes currently are No. 1 and No. 2 in the RPI.

Beating either or both of those teams will be a tall task for Florida State, but even if the Seminoles lose on Saturday, there is a very good chance they have already done enough to open the NCAA Tournament at Dick Howser Stadium. Considering that FSU is 27-9 at home this season and just 7-9 away, that would serve as a huge plus.