Seminole Saturday Summary: FSU Baseball One Win from Supers

Florida State baseball may have had its worst regular season ever under head coach Mike Martin, but through two NCAA Tournament games, no one would have guessed it.

The Seminoles are one win away from advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals for the 17th time in 21 years. Despite being the lower seed in each of its first two games, Florida State has cruised so far in Athens.

FSU opened the regional on Friday with a 13-7 win over Florida Atlantic in a contest where it homered six times and tallied 20 hits. More surprising was Saturday’s night effort as the Seminoles blasted No. 4 national seed Georgia, 12-3, behind 15 hits and a solid outing from starting pitcher C.J. Van Eyk.

FSU will now have two chances to win one game. The Seminoles will play at 6 p.m. EST on Sunday against the winner of the elimination game between FAU and Georgia. Florida State has never won a regional where it wasn’t the top seed.

Football

Weekly Commitments: None
2020 Recruiting Class Ranking: No. 8 nationally, third in ACC* (12 total commitments)

Men’s Basketball

Weekly Commitments: None
Recognitions: Trent Forrest, G (National Association of Basketball Coaches Give Back Team nominee)
2020 Recruiting Class Ranking: No. 11 nationally, third in ACC* (1 total commitment)

Baseball

Record: 38-21
Ranking: No. 20 Collegiate Baseball; No. 3 seed Athens Regional
Past Week: (2-0); defeated Florida Atlantic, 13-7 (Athens Regional); defeated Georgia, 12-3 (Athens Regional)
Upcoming: vs. Georgia or Florida Atlantic (Athens Regional, Sunday)
Recognitions: J.C. Flowers, OF/P (Collegiate Baseball All-American second team)
Big Picture: Despite a sub-par regular season and being the No. 3 seed in the Athens Regional, the Seminoles are one win from advancing to the NCAA Super Regional round for the 17th time in 21 years.

Weekly Review

FSU 13, Florida Atlantic 7
Friday, May 31 (Athens Regional)
Florida State smashed 20 hits and six home runs in the NCAA Tournament opener to advance to the winner’s bracket in Athens. Drew Mendoza and Tim Becker each homered twice and each drove in four runs; it was the first two of Becker’s career. J.C. Flowers and Reese Albert also left the yard while Mike Salvatore finished the day with four hits and three runs scored. Bobby Morgensen went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs for Florida Atlantic in the loss.

(4) Georgia 3, FSU 12
Saturday, June 1 (Athens Regional)
FSU rallied from an early 2-0 deficit with 12 unanswered runs to top No. 4 national seed Georgia and move within a game of Super Regionals. Tim Becker homered for the second straight day while Carter Smith and Mike Salvatore also left the yard for FSU. Smith, Becker and Nander De Sedas all finished with three RBIs. De Sedas and Salvatore each had three hits. On the mound, C.J. Van Eyk allowed just three runs on nine hits in eight innings while striking out nine and walking none. Tucker Maxwell was 3-for-4 for the Bulldogs with a home run and all three Georgia runs scored.

Track and Field

Ranking: Men No. 29 USTFCCCA; Women No. 3 USTFCCCA
Past Week: N/A
Upcoming: NCAA Championships (June 5 through June 8)
Recognitions: Shauna Helps (CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-District 4); Ka’Tia Seymour (South Region Women’s Track Performer of the Year); Bob Braman (South Region Women’s Coach of the Year)
Big Picture: Both the FSU men and women will be in Austin for the NCAA Championships, which begin on June 5.

Other Recognitions

Men’s Golf: John Pak (GCAA All-American first team)
Women’s Golf: Frida Kinhult (Honda Award finalist)
Softball: Sydney Sherrill, IF (NFCA All-American first team); Meghan King, P (NFCA All-American second team)

Other News

Former FSU hoops player Jeff Peterson has been named assistant general manager of the Brooklyn Nets.

FSU women’s hoops will face Michigan at The Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on Dec. 22.

The 2020 ACC Baseball Tournament will be held in Charlotte.

FSU softball has added Tulsa infield transfer Josie Muffley.

*247Sports Composite rankings

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.