Posted by NoleCC

The Florida State Seminoles are 21-2 in 2010. That’s the best start for the softball team in a very, very long time (’93). Nearly every starter is batting above .300 (except for the LF platoon), and Sarah Hamilton and Terese Gober are pitching at a very high level, as usual. Everything is swell for Coach Alameda and the Seminoles, right? Much like the FSU Baseball team, we’re going to find out if mediocre competition is the reason for a great record, or if the Noles are a great team that’s ready to compete at an elite level in 2010.

The Seminoles, on a 10 game winning streak after dominating their trip to Boca Raton, take on North Carolina this weekend (1pm & 3pm Saturday, 12pm on Sunday) to open the ACC schedule. The Tar Heels are 16-3 overall, on a 14 game winning streak, with their only losses occuring in Austin, Texas to current NFCA #14 LSU and #15 Texas and vote-getter DePaul.  UNC has cleaned house on a West Coast Trip over the weekend, and has one more game tonight against UCLA before the FSU Series this weekend. Like the Seminoles, the Tar Heels are led by great pitching in Danielle Spaulding and Amber Johnson, and they have a solid offense. Make no mistake, UNC is a major contender for the ACC Title, along with Georgia Tech and FSU. The Tar Heels know the next two weeks of play (against the Noles and Jackets) likely determines their chances for a regular season ACC Championship in 2010.

On paper, the Noles look better than last year. In person, the Noles look better than last year too. Yes, the competition hasn’t always been up to par, but what I’ve seen with my own eyes is a more disciplined and better hitting team. They’re more patient at the plate, more selective with pitches and they’ve made a ton of “hard” outs when they make them.  They’ve had contributions from players I didn’t expect much offense from like Kristie McConn (.367 / .446 / .551) and true freshman Tiffani Brown (.317 / .358 / .459). Robin Ahrberg (.324 / .380 / .507) successfully returned from injury. Tory Haddad (.379 / .500 / .707) and Shayla Jackson (.418 / .435 / .506) have had such great years that I almost forget about all-everything team captain Carly Wynn (.408 / .516 / .803). It’s important to realize that they will not hit the same way against elite pitching staffs, but I think they’ll do better than they have in recent years. Don’t forget, they’ve been close in recent years and have pulled off some very solid upsets of great teams. The stats have not been this good across the board in recent memory, even against the most mediocre of teams.

With all of that in mind, I am worried about the outcome of Saturday and Sunday. I’m mainly worried about the pitching staff, but I also fear the fielding too. Sarah Hamilton has the stats this season, and maybe in these last couple of weeks she’s worked out what I would call “growing pains” thanks to adding some new pitches to her arsenal. Terese Gober, who has been strong to start the year, has had a rough couple of outings and seen her ERA nearly double to a still very respectable 1.21. Both Hamilton and Gober will have to keep the UNC bats at bay this weekend in order for FSU to succeed, since the FSU bats might not go completely cold, but cannot be expected to score 4+ runs on the Spaulding / Johnson duo. For the gloved, the good news is that Jen Lapicki and Tory Haddard are rock solid. The bad news? Brown, Stager and McConn aren’t. The infield needs to get its act together or errors could cost the Noles victories this weekend.

Weekend Prediction

Based on what I’ve seen, this weekend SHOULD see FSU win 2 of the 3 games. It’s at home and the Seminoles will have more rest than UNC who will make the cross country trip after playing UCLA tonight. Hopefully that rest will keep the bats sharp and help solidify the gloves. Don’t expect the games to be high scoring affairs, but the FSU bats should make enough contact across the board to win a couple of 2-1 or 3-2 ball games provided Gober and Hamilton command the strike zone.

If you can make it out there, prior to FSU Baseball’s 6pm game against Virginia DO IT! Admission is FREE.