No. 14 FSU baseball takes on Pitt: Preview, how to watch, game thread

TL;DR

No. 14 Florida State baseball faces Pitt in a three-game series at Dick Howser Stadium. FSU aims to rebound after a recent sweep, while Pitt comes off a series win against No. 10 Virginia.

Key points

FSU is ranked No. 14 and has a record of 30-14.
Pitt has a record of 28-15 and recently swept No. 10 Virginia.
Chase Williams is injured and will miss the series against Pitt.

Florida State SeminolesPitt PanthersACC

No. 14 Florida State (30-14, 12-9 ACC) opens the month of May with three games against the Pitt Panthers (28-15, 10-11 ACC) at Dick Howser Stadium, looking to get back on track in conference play after a sweep last weekend.

Last time out, the Seminoles took care of business in a 9-1 win over USF on Wednesday, though a late-game injury to Chase Williams will keep the junior out of the lineup against the Panthers.

FSU enters on a strong stretch at Howser, going 21-3 at home this year. The Seminoles have five ACC series wins through seven weekends of conference play, including two sweeps, against four top-12 nationally ranked opponents.

Pitt arrives having just swept No. 10 Virginia at home last weekend, the Panthers’ first-ever series win over the Cavaliers. The four-game winning streak that included a 23-1 romp at No. 12 West Virginia was snapped by a 13-5 loss to Kent State on Wednesday night before Pitt traveled to Tallahassee.

The Panthers are one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the country. Pittsburgh leads the nation in walks (313), ranks second in on-base percentage (.452), fourth in scoring (9.4 runs per game), fifth in home runs per game (2.02), and sixth in slugging percentage (.571) and runs scored (406). The program set a new single-season home run record this year with 87.

Head coach Mike Bell brings familiarity to this matchup. He played at FSU from 1994-95 and spent seven years as the Seminoles’ pitching coach from 2012-18, helping Florida State reach the College World Series in both 2012 and 2017. Bell is 7-5 against his former program as Pitt’s head coach.

FSU leads the all-time series 29-8, including 26-5 in Tallahassee. The home team has won each of the last two series: FSU took the 2023 series at Howser, and Pitt took the 2024 series in Pittsburgh. The last meeting was May 12, 2024, when FSU won the finale 15-4 in eight innings.

Panther hitters to know:

Sr. SS Caden Dulin: The Brooks Wallace Award semifinalist leads the team with 60 hits and is slashing .361 with 52 runs scored, 41 RBI, 11 doubles and 11 home runs on the year.
R-Sr. OF Lorenzo Carrier: A midseason First-Team All-American and Golden Spikes Award watch list honoree, Carrier ranks fourth nationally in walks (49) and OBP (.554) while also sitting fifth in slugging percentage (.828). He has 57 RBI on the season.