Florida State Baseball takes hot start into weekend series vs. Western Carolina
As his team prepares to host its second series of the young 2024 season, second-year Florida State baseball coach Link Jarrett sounds much more focused on the process than the individual game results.
The Seminoles are 3-0 heading into this weekend’s series against visiting Western Carolina, which is 3-1 after sweeping Iona last weekend and then falling to USC Upstate on Wednesday. Jarrett said the Catamounts are “very experienced” on the mound and in the heart of their lineup, and he is well aware that they have scored 41 runs in their first four games combined.
“They’ve got some guys who can do damage,” he said.
That may be true, but they will face two Florida State starting pitchers who were dominant in their 2024 debuts last weekend.
Friday night starter Cam Leiter threw five shutout innings and recorded 13 of his 15 outs by strikeout. Sunday starter Jamie Arnold also did not allow an earned run, and he struck out a career-high nine in five innings.
Through three games, the Seminoles have a 2.00 team ERA, and they have six starting position players (or part-time starters) currently batting .400 or higher. The defense has committed four errors, however, which is somewhat of a concern after last season’s fielding struggles.
But Jarrett remains confident Florida State will be improved in that area.
“Overall, I’m happy with things,” he said. “Defensively, there are moments I have concerns … we’ve just got to continue to tighten it up.”
Because projected weekend starter Conner Whittaker started a midweek game, Florida State hasn’t decided who will take the mound first on Sunday. Jarrett said it likely will depend on which pitchers are needed to get through the first two games against Western Carolina.
Sophomore right-handers Ben Barrett and Yoel Tejeda Jr., a Florida transfer, are two potential options; Jarrett said they could each stretch out to 70-80 pitches if needed this weekend.
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The Seminoles also are looking to see more from freshman pitchers Matt Sauser, Hudson Rowan and Brady Louck, as well as West Virginia transfer Noah Short.
Who pitches when isn’t Jarrett’s top concern right now. He simply wants to see as many of these arms compete in as many situations as possible, so that roles can be defined later in the season.
“You’re still gathering data,” he said. “And I think it’s really a never-ending process in evaluation and how the season goes. … There may be some guys who close games that maybe didn’t envision closing games. There may be guys that start that may not have envisioned that would happen.”
Junior college transfer Gavin Adams is not available to pitch this weekend, as Jarrett said the hard-throwing righty is, “receiving treatment.”
Senior left-hander Andrew Armstrong, who is coming back from an injury, could be an option to throw some on Sunday, Jarrett said. But he added that Whittaker and Carson Dorsey, both of whom saw extended action on Tuesday, likely won’t be called upon.
Game time today is 5 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. battle on Saturday and a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
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