Inside the Numbers: FSU Feasting on Bad Pitching, Slumping vs. Good

The frustration at the plate continued for Florida State on Wednesday as the Seminoles were defeated for the second time in as many nights. FSU fell at Florida Gulf Coast, 5-2.

The loss came one night after the Seminoles managed just four hits in a 1-0 shutout loss to rival Florida. After getting two runs in the first inning on Wednesday, FSU was blanked for the remainder of the night and has been held scoreless in 18 of its last 19 innings at the plate.

On Tuesday night, FSU had very few scoring opportunities against the Gators. On Wednesday, it had plenty, but left 15 men on base in a loss to the Eagles.

Despite getting blanked the night before, FSU entered Wednesday ranked ninth in the country with 153 runs scored. A closer look at the numbers however, suggests that the Seminoles have teed off on sub-par pitching and struggled against strong pitching.

Here’s how FSU has fared against teams with ERAs at or below 4.00 versus teams with earned run averages above 4.00:

It’s not surprising that Florida State has done better against staffs that don’t pitch as well than ones that do. So far, FSU has played nine games against teams with better than a collective 4.00 ERA. They are: South Florida (2.01), Florida (2.31), UCF (2.52), Jacksonville (3.24), Florida Gulf Coast (3.44) and Virginia Commonwealth (3.88).

In nine games against those opponents, FSU is 5-4, but has been shut out twice and 1-hit on two occasions. If you excluded VCU, who FSU played three against to open the year, from the conversation, FSU’s average for runs per game drops to 3.3 and the number of hits per game fall to about 5.7.

In the nine games against opponents with earned run averages higher than 4.00, the Seminoles have scored at least 10 runs on seven occasions.

With a 3-game series against Pacific being the lone remaining exception, things aren’t slated to get much easier for FSU at the plate. ACC play started last weekend and will get into full swing as the season goes on. Of the 90 teams in the country that currently have an ERA below 4.00, nine are from the ACC.

The good news for Florida State is that highly-touted freshman Drew Mendoza could make his debut before the end of March and Jackson Lueck could soon be back in the everyday lineup. Lueck, who had been battling shin splints, made a pinch-hitting appearance on Wednesday after missing the previous six games.

Florida State’s struggles to get the big hit or manufacture runs against quality pitching is concerning, but we’re still only a third of the way through the year and the lineup could soon see an upgrade with Mendoza and Lueck. The competition however, doesn’t look to get any easier down the stretch.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson