Boston College Baseball Weekend Preview- Florida State

After a midweek win over Dartmouth snapped a 4 game losing streak, Boston College will jump right back into ACC play this weekend with a three game series against Florida State. With the Eagles currently at the bottom of the ACC, this weekend could be a good opportunity to start righting the ship as the season begins to wind down.

SCHEDULE

Friday, April 20: 6PM at Brighton

Saturday, April 20: 3PM at Fenway Park, 7th Annual ALS Awareness Game

Sunday, April 22: 1PM at Brighton

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN:

As usual, all three games of the series will be covered on Gametracker and broadcast online via WZBC Radio. Saturday’s ALS Awareness game will also be available on ESPNU, with BC alumn Jon Sciambi as part of the broadcast team. Links to all audio and video options can be found on the schedule page of Boston College baseball at BCEagles.com.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT FLORIDA STATE

Florida State comes into the weekend sporting an impressive 26-12 record that includes wins in their last two outings. The Seminoles are just a few spots above BC in the ACC, however, with an 8-9 record and four consecutive losses in conference play placing them in fifth in the Atlantic Division.

Like many teams in the ACC, Florida State has some excellent top of the rotation pitching, with Drew Parrish and Andrew Karp leading the way. Both pitchers have ERAs under 3 and both are averaging more that a strikeout per inning. Backed by a deep bullpen, the Seminoles pitching staff has held opponents to just a .230 average on the season while putting up a solid staff ERA of 4.13. BC will have its hands full when at the plate this weekend, as runs could very well be at a premium in all three games.

On offense, Florida State is lead by third baseman Drew Mendoza, first baseman Rhett Aplin, and catcher Cal Raleigh. The big bats for the Seminoles all have on base percentages well over .400 to go along with some decent power as well, with the trio combining for nine home runs on the season. The big power bat belongs to Jackson Lueck, however, who has eight home runs and a slugging percentage of .451, good for second on the team behind Mendoza. FSU has a team average of .254 and is scoring well over 5 runs per game, so BC’s pitching staff will be tested early and often in this series.

ALS AWARENESS GAME

Saturday’s game will take place at Fenway Park as part of the 7th Annual ALS Awareness Game. Held in honor of BC’s former captain, all ticket proceeds will benefit the Pete Frates Home Health Initiative. Tickets will go for $10 and be general admission. If you can’t make this one, ESPNU will carry the game as well. This is the second year that Fenway Park will host the ALS Awareness game. BC has a 4-2 record in the six previous ALS Awareness games, including wins in each of the last three seasons.

PREDICTION

Florida State has 13 more wins than BC and a pitching staff that looks like they could cause fits for a BC team that has struggled at times to score runs. Add in some dangerous bats and a deep lineup and it’s hard to feel overly confident about the Eagles’ chances in this series. BC does usually show up to play for the ALS Awareness game, however, and Florida State has not been as impressive away from home, with a record of just 5-7 away from Tallahassee. Still, the Seminoles have to be seen as the better team in this series despite their flaws. I’ll say FSU takes two of three on the weekend, but BC takes the Saturday showdown at Fenway Park.