After a 2-game sweep of Florida Gulf Coast, Florida State fans are feeling a little better about whether the Seminoles sit as a team. What’s scary to think about is where FSU might be without a sophomore outfielder.
Jackson Lueck, the team’s everyday left fielder, has been the team’s MVP — at least at the plate — through the first 31 games this season. Lueck’s .333 average leads the team, but he also ranks second on the squad with 25 RBIs.
A productive year from Lueck isn’t unexpected. Though he didn’t become an everyday player until midway through last season, Lueck was the team’s top hitter last year with a .379 average to go with four home runs and 35 RBIs.
The most notable of Lueck’s home runs last season came in the regular season finale against Miami. The Seminoles had lost six of seven and desperately needed a win. Lueck gave them one with a blast over the wall in right-center field in the 10th inning.
With the Seminoles in a similar predicament on Tuesday night, having lost four straight, Lueck displayed similar heroics with a double down the right field line to score Taylor Walls in a 7-6 walk-off win over Florida Gulf Coast.
Lueck was forced to miss some time earlier in the year with shin splints, but when he plays this season, FSU is 16-7. In two of the seven losses where Lueck played, he made just one plate appearance as a pinch-hitter late in the game.
In Lueck’s absence, FSU is just 4-4 this season. In those four losses, the Seminoles have averaged less than three runs per game and have been shut out twice.
Despite a stellar freshman year, Lueck was expected to be a complimentary piece to three other Seminoles — Dylan Busby, Taylor Walls and Cal Raleigh — with preseason All-American hype. Those three have not quite lived up that hype just yet.
Fortunately for FSU, Busby has started to swing a hot bat. Busby entered the month of March hitting just .111, but has raised that average to .274 since. Over his last eight games, Busby is hitting .400 with a pair of home runs, five runs scored and eight RBIs.
As for Walls, he’s hitting 130 points lower than he did a season ago while Raleigh’s current average is 68 points lower than his .301 clip as a freshman.
Over the last three games however, Raleigh is 4-for-13 with four RBIs. Raleigh’s RBI triple in the fourth inning on Wednesday tied the game. He would later come around the score the winning run in a 3-2 contest shortened by rain.
While Walls’ numbers are down considerably, he is still reaching base at a .429 clip, which ranks second on the team behind only Nick Derr. Fresh off a suspension that lasted fewer than two games, it was Walls who opened the ninth inning with a single on Tuesday before coming around to score the winning run.
For Florida State to get anywhere close to where many had envisioned prior to the year, it will need to have Walls and Raleigh return to 2016 form. With added protection in the lineup, Lueck could be even more valuable for FSU than he has been so far. And that’s saying a lot.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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