Story by
Florida State baseball coach Link Jarrett to lean on pitching staff vs Wake Forest
- Story by
- Florida State baseball coach Link Jarrett to lean on pitching staff vs Wake Forest
With the Mercer upset loss behind it, No. 5 Florida State baseball (30-6, 10-5 ) faces a bigger task this weekend against No 12 Wake Forest (24-12, 9-9) at David F. Couch Ballpark.
FSU coach Link Jarrett also confirmed that weekend starters Cam Leiter and Connor Whitaker will once again unavailable for the three-game series that starts Friday at 6 p.m.
Advertisement
FSU's ace Jamie Arnold (7-1) will start on the mound for the Seminoles in the opener.
Arnold is ranked top-10 in the country multiple pitching categories, which includes second in ERA (1.32) and No. 7 with 78 strikeouts.
More: What channel is FSU baseball vs Wake Forest on today? Time, TV schedule for Seminoles-Demon Deacons
Wake Forest, which is coming off a loss to North Carolina-Wilmington on the same night FSU lost to Mercer last Tuesday, is scheduled to start its ace pitcher Chase Burns. Burns is also 7-1 and known as a power pitcher with velocity.
Carson Dorsey (2-2) will pitch on Saturday for the Seminoles against Josh Hartle (4-1). FSU's Sunday starter is to be determined.
Advertisement
"Going into today, at least you have arms and options that we were not going to involve in the game Tuesday back, and we hope Jamie can do his thing," Jarrett told the media Friday from Winston-Salem, N.C.
"Clearly, we have our work cut out. They have a really dynamic staff. So Jamie needs to get us into this thing and have some length, and we need to defend and, you know, maybe shorten the backing opportunity."
FSU's pitching staff will go toe-to-toe with the Demon Deacons' best hitter, Nick Kurtz. Kurtz was named ACC Player of the Week for the second consecutive time. Kurtz has 40 walks and 17 homers this season.
"So you just have to make sure within the strength of what we're running out there we're executing pitches to the best of our ability, knowing that you know when you look at a guy that's got 40 walks and 19 Punch outs like there's not a lot of swings and misses, so trying to evade him when possible," Jarrett said.
UCF transfer pitcher Cam Leiter struck out 13 batters in Florida State baseball's 11-0 opening season win over Butler on Feb. 16, 202 at Dick Howser Stadium.
Jarrett gives update on injured pitchers
Jarrett ruled out Leiter, Whitaker and reliever Ben Barrett for the weekend. Barrett, Leiter, and Whitaker each missed time but Jarrett is confident trio is close to returning.
Advertisement
"I see all three of those guys coming back," Jarrett said. "So clearly, that helps a lot."
Barrett has been throwing bullpens and Whitaker is resting. Jarrett spoke about Leiter after missing two games for the Seminoles and what he means to his pitching staff.
" When we can get … especially Leiter back in here, it allows him to be dynamic and maybe shorten some of the duration of the outings for some of the other relievers that we've had to lean on a little bit," Jarret said.
"That's what we talked about from day one on being a key part of this staff. Getting us where we want to go with how this is put together."
Advertisement
More: When is the NFL Draft? Date, location, TV info for FSU football fans
When does FSU and Wake Forest baseball play this weekend?
-
Friday, April 19: 6 p.m.
-
Saturday, April 20:4 p.m.
-
Sunday, April 21:1 p.m.
-
TV: ACCNX (streaming only)
-
Streaming: WatchESPN and the ESPN app (TV provider subscription needed), fuboTV (7-day free trial ), YouTube TV (2-week free trial), Hulu + Live TV (7-day free trial)
This article originally appeared on The Repository: FSU's Link Jarrett gives updates on pitchers before facing Wake Forest
