Florida State came into this week controlling its own destiny for a top-eight seed and a regional. They could begin putting the finishing touches on their resume with a series win against a Pitt team that had not won an ACC series all year and came into the weekend with a record under .500. Instead of taking care of business and starting their four-game road trip on the right foot, they did anything but.
A lack of timely hitting, timely pitching, and a slumping offense resulted in the Seminoles dropping the first two games between the sides. The lineup put some concerns to rest with a 15-run explosion on Sunday, but they are not receiving contributions 1-9 like they did at the beginning of the season. When Cam Smith and James Tibbs are not racking at the dish, the secondary scoring has dropped in consistency. Considering that the ‘Noles only won one of their last four ACC series, they are short on time to present a resume worthy of a top-eight seed.
Looking back, going extra innings against Jacksonville set the scene for a strange week. The Seminoles survived on an 11th-inning Lance Trippel walk-off single, the only time FSU held a lead. Link Jarrett’s club came out flat, falling behind 4-1 after just the third frame, before scoring three runs in the seventh and eighth to tie the game at six. John Abraham kept FSU alive by shutting the door in extras before Florida State finally came up with the clutch hit it waited for all night.
FSU could not muster a big knock three days later when they needed it. Jamie Arnold roared back to life after a difficult start last weekend, striking out 17 over seven innings and allowing just one run, a lefty-on-lefty opposite-field solo shot that ended up being the winning run for the Panthers. The Seminoles were retired in order from the seventh frame on as they scored zero runs for the first time this season and spoiled Arnold’s best performance.
On Saturday, Florida State came out flat again, falling behind 4-0 after two innings. Usually, this team does a great job of responding to adversity, but this time they did not. Weather forced the game to be suspended in the fifth inning, with the ‘Noles trailing 6-3, and would be picked up the following day. On Sunday, the two teams were scheduled to play 13 frames. FSU cut the deficit to one after a two-run sixth, but the bullpen blew the game, allowing three runs to score in the seventh, as back-to-back jacks from Smith and Tibbs were too little, too late as Pitt officially clinched the series.
Forty-five minutes later, the Seminoles decided they no longer wanted to play around. The offense detonated for eight runs in the opening frame as the team got off the mat for the first time all series. Cam Smith’s two-run HR and Alex Lodise’s clutch two-RBI single provided the punch the Panthers never recovered from. Florida State would run rule PItt 15-4 in eight innings, as the Seminoles could take something positive from the weekend.
3 Up
Jamie Arnold:
Remember when Jacob DeGrom lit professional baseball on fire, but the Mets were so bad he finished the season with a losing record and almost lost the Cy Young?
Jamie Arnold knows the feeling.
The scorekeepers put a loss on his ledger, but he was the only person who did not deserve it. The lefty started the day with a bang, striking out the side at the bottom of the first. He sat down the Pittsburgh lineup in order his first time through and recorded eight of the nine outs via the punch out. The opposing hitters did not stand a chance, and it felt like they were walking back to the dugout as soon as they stepped into the batter’s box with the pace Arnold threw with on the mound. He would consistently begin his windup with 17 or 18 seconds left on the pitch clock and took playing pitch and catch on the bump to a different level. He allowed one run, while the Pitt pitchers gave up zero, but Arnold cannot pitch and hit simultaneously. He deserved better, and a brilliant start should give FSU even more confidence that they can steal any game in a series with Arnold on the mound.
Lead-off hitting: Last week, I criticized Max Williams and DeAmez Ross for their play in the one-hole.
They turned it around.
DeAmez Ross received the start on Tuesday against Jacksonville and provided the first fireworks to the game with his only HR on the year to date, a two-run blast that left the park in a hurry and cut the Jacksonville lead to one. Max Williams drew back into the lineup on Friday and smashed a lead-off single to start the game. He finished as one of three Seminoles to record a base knock on the day. While he slumped Saturday, he finished the weekend with a bang, recording a sac fly in the makeup game and going 3-4 in the series finale with two RBIs. With Link Jarrett not knowing what he will receive from the bottom part of the lineup on any given night, the steady play from the lead-off bats is becoming increasingly more crucial as the regular season draws to a close.
Long ball: How could I write about Florida State without mentioning home runs?
Even though they lost their program-record streak of 21 straight games with a round-tripper on Friday, the Seminoles showed off their power all week. It started with the Ross blast on Tuesday night and continued into the weekend as Cam Smith and James Tibbs each hit multiple homers. Smith snapped his on-base streak on Friday night and looked in a slump before hitting an HR on his final at-bat of the first game on Sunday and a dinger at his first plate appearance during the second game. As usual, the home runs provided more than just numbers on the scoreboard, and they ignited the Seminole offense, especially in the series finale, where they scored six more runs in the frame.
3 Down
Timely hitting: For FSU to win on a walk-off in one of their games this week and timely hitting still comes up as a concern proves how much of a disaster the weekend became. The lack of clutch knocks became a trend on Tuesday, with Florida State batting 2-11 with two outs, and came to a crescendo with their baffling effort on Friday. The Seminoles hit 0-11 with runners on base and 1-10 with two outs, as they did not push a run across for the first time this season. The team improved in pressure situations on Sunday as they batted almost .500 with runners in scoring position in their series finale rout, but the damage, or lack thereof, made their effort close to moot. If FSU wants to make a deep postseason run, they will need to look more like the team that broke the school record for grand slams in a year and less of the group that did not put a runner on base from the seventh inning on of a one-run game like they did on Friday.
Catcher position: Looking strictly at the batting totals from Jaxson West and McGwire Holbrook this week, the boys behind the plate left much to be desired. Holbrook received the first start of the week but went 0-2 against JU with two Ks as he looked lost at the plate and frustrated at himself. Jaxson West came into the game later, but he fouled out with the ‘Noles trailing by a run and a runner on third with two outs. The Alabama transfer had a chance to redeem himself with Jamie Ferrer standing on third with FSU trailing by a run in the sixth inning on Friday. Still, again, he did not provide the timely knock and returned to the dugout without moving the runner over. West looked better on Sunday, finishing 1-4 with two runs scored as Florida State poured it on Pitt, but Link Jarrett cannot afford to have both of his rotating catchers in a slump simultaneously.
Secondary Scoring: Link Jarrett does not usually tinker with his batting order, but to get Marco Dinges and Jamie Ferrer going, he moved the DH up to the four-hole. The tactic did not pay off for the manager as neither of these players put together their best effort on the week. Marco Dinges finished the slate 3-18 with two knocks coming in the 15-4 win Sunday. The head coach even moved him second in the order, but he finished that day 0-5. Jamie Ferrer did not fare much better, as he came in and out of the lineup this week, and the wear and tear continued to take a beating on the left fielder. Ferrer did get on base during the Friday night contest, a feat not many of his teammates accomplished, but he left Saturday’s game early and did not play on Sunday. Throw in Daniel Cantu, who only brought home one run over the four-game span, and the usual 4-5-6 hitters for the Seminoles did not pull their weight this week. Link Jarrett cannot only rely on Smith and Tibbs for offense, and if the next wave of contributors does not pull on the rope, FSU will continue to stumble to the finish line.
