Seminoles face Stetson with a star sidelined. Can their offense find power and execution against a tough Hatters squad?
It is a series that was first played in 1949, a 10-1 victory by the Seminoles. On Tuesday, Florida State (21-6, 7-2 ACC) will take a road trip to Deland, Florida to take on the Hatters of Stetson (12-16, 3-5).
The Hatters are coming off back-to-back losses to Florida Gulf Coast University, while the Seminoles are coming off a loss to the Duke Blue Devils.
Florida State owns a 70-27 record against Stetson, and has won seven of the last 10 meetings with the Hatters.
Stetson
Stetson is a team that split a four-game series with Arkansas earlier in the season, when the Razorbacks were ranked No. 6 in the country. So, the Hatters have what it takes to win on any given night. They are led by Juan De La Cruz, who leads the Hatters with a .356 batting average to go with seven doubles and 16 stolen bases. Yohann Dessureault has collected 22 RBI. As a team, the Hatters are batting .261.
On the mound, James Hays stands out for the Hatters. Hays is undefeated at 3-0, with 35 strikeouts, 10 walks and a 3.82 ERA.
Stetson’s last win over Florida State was in 2024, a 10-5 victory by the Hatters.
Florida State
The Seminoles must carry on the rest of the season without their best player, first baseman Myles Bailey, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the series against Duke.
With Bailey’s power gone from the lineup, Florida State must show nearly flawless execution at the plate, and like coach Link Jarrett has said many times, “stack up quality at-bats.” As a team, the Seminoles are batting .292.
Brayden Dowd must pick up the slack in the power department. He is batting .300 with six home runs, six doubles and boasts a slugging percentage of .600.
Freshman Kelvyn Paulino leads the Seminoles at the plate with a .382 batting average, to go one home run and has struck out only 10 times in 68 at-bats. He has 20 RBI and five doubles.
On the mound, Wes Mendes has been a steady presence and was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week. In a 3-1 victory over Duke in Game 1 on Friday, Mendes booked six innings of scoreless work and struck out 12.
With a 6-1 record and a 1.33 ERA, Mendes has struck out 58 batters and allowed just six earned runs in 40 innings of work. John Abraham is the first call out of the bullpen, with 34 strikeouts and a 0.75 ERA in 24 innings of relief.
As a staff, Florida State’s ERA stands at 4.06, with 294 strikeouts and 105 walks.
With the series win over Duke over the weekend, Florida State climbed in the polls. The team is ranked No. 7 by D1 Baseball, No. 5 by Perfect Game and No. 6 by Baseball America.
How to Watch
Date: Tuesday, March 31
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: Conrad Park in Deland, Florida
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 100.7 FM WFLA
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