Florida State and Sam Houston State have each become accustomed to playing with their backs up against a wall. Both teams were forced to beat a fresher team two games in a row to get to the NCAA Super Regionals and will now meet in the best-of-three Tallahassee Regional with a trip to the College World Series on the line.
Sam Houston State is one of the bigger surprises among the 16 teams still playing baseball. The Bearkats were the No. 3 seed in the Lubbock Regional, but defeated Arizona and No. 5 national seed Texas Tech twice to advance. Against teams that made the NCAA Tournament this year, the Bearkats are 13-7.
Florida State on the other hand, was forced to win four games in three days to advance from the Tallahassee Regional, but did just that, defeating every team in the regional, including Auburn twice. The Seminoles come in red hot, winning 16 of 19 dating back to the second week of May.
Offensively, both teams bring a lot to the table. Sam Houston State puts up better numbers when it comes to average and on-base percentage while FSU supplies more power and scores more runs per game.
The strength for Florida State has been the middle part of the order which includes Dylan Busby, Jackson Lueck and Quincy Nieporte. Busby leads the team with a .317 batting average and 14 home runs while Lueck has been arguably FSU’s most consistent hitter. Nieporte’s 73 RBIs is a team-high as he ranks among the nation’s best in that category.
Of late, lead-off man Taylor Walls has returned to form after an All-American sophomore season in 2016. At the bottom of the order, Matt Henderson and Steven Wells have come on strong in recent weeks as well.
For Sam Houston State, it has been more of a balanced attack. The Bearkats have eight different hitters hitting at least .280, six hitting at least .300 and three hitting better than .340.
Bryce Johnson is the team’s leading hitter with a .350 average, 33 stolen bases and 62 runs scored — all team-highs. Robie Rojas and Andrew Fregia have been the biggest suppliers of power with seven home runs each. Rojas is hitting .347 this year while Clayton Harp leads the team with 50 RBIs. Blake Chisholm is also an interesting player to watch with a .347 batting average and team-high .468 on-base percentage.
On the mound, Sam Houston State has four very competent starters, headlined by Heath Donica, who will start the Super Regional opener on Saturday. Donica is 9-2 this season with a sizzling 1.91 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 108 1/3 innings. Out of the bullpen, Nick Mikolajchak has been the go-to guy with 13 saves. Hayden Wesneski, Seth Ballew and Dakota Mills are all very serviceable pitchers as well.
Facing Donica for Florida State on Saturday will be lefty All-American Tyler Holton. Holton is 10-2 this year with a 2.22 ERA and an ungodly .166 opponents’ average. Holton has struck out 132 hitters this year in 105 1/3 innings.
Starting pitching for FSU has not been a strong suit for all of the season, but it has been lights out since the start of the ACC Tournament. Drew Parrish and Cole Sands have each been very good. Out of the bullpen, closer Drew Carlton has been FSU’s guy. Carlton has six saves, but often gets the call whenever the contest looks to be on the line.
At Dick Howser Stadium this year, the Seminoles are 27-13. Getting the Super Regional at home was a plus for FSU as it has never won a Super Regional outside of Tallahassee. Sam Houston State is just 10-11 on the road this year, but does know how to win away from home with a 9-1 record on neutral fields.
At stake for the Bearkats will be their first ever College World Series appearance. The Seminoles will be looking for their 22nd appearance, but first since 2012. FSU is just 5-10 all-time in Super Regionals, but 4-1 when it wins the first game.
Schedule
Game 1: Saturday, June 10, noon EST (ESPN2)
Game 2: Sunday, June 11, noon EST (ESPN or ESPN2)
Game 3: Monday, June 12 (if necessary), Time TBA
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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