TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — When Miami and Florida State meet on the baseball diamond this weekend there will be more than bragging rights on the line.
Besides solidifying their seeds for next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Durham, North Carolina, the Hurricanes and Seminoles are looking to bolster their resumes for a national seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Before the Seminoles and Hurricanes were both ACC members, they used to play six times per year, including a series early in the season. It was reduced to one three-game series when Miami joined the conference in 2004. This marks the first time since 1976 that the rivals have closed the regular season against each other.
“It’s big for both of us,” Miami manager Jim Morris said. “We have a chance to win the ACC regular season title, which is huge and they have a chance to improve their seeding.”
The Hurricanes (42-9, 20-6 ACC) appear to be the team that is gaining momentum. They have won eight straight games, including a come-from-behind 4-2 victory in Thursday’s series opener. A win on either Friday or Saturday or a Louisville loss to Wake Forest would give Miami its third ACC regular-season crown.
“Our team right now is the kind of team that has a lot of confidence in ourselves,” said outfielder Willie Abreu, who is tied for the team lead in runs batted in with 48. “We really don’t know when it’s going to happen, but we know it’s going to happen.”
Miami, which advanced to the College World Series last year, is ranked second in the College Baseball and fourth in the Baseball America polls, which should put them in solid position to host both an NCAA regional and super regional.
Florida State is slumping at the wrong time as it has dropped five of six. The Seminoles appear to be safe as a regional host but would need to take the last two games against Miami and win the ACC Tournament to revive their Super Regional hopes.
The Seminoles (33-18, 15-9) led the Atlantic Division for most of the season but with Thursday’s loss, Louisville clinched the division title and at least a second seed in the ACC Tournament. They have dropped from seventh to 14th in the Baseball America poll and from fourth to eighth in the Collegiate Baseball rankings.
If Florida State is going to turn things around, it needs to do a better job with runners in scoring position and getting better starting pitching. It was 1 of 14 with runners in scoring position on Thursday while the starting pitchers have a 4.23 earned run average over the past six games.
Manager Mike Martin has also stressed not giving teams extra opportunities as the Seminoles have committed five errors in the past five games.
“Any wins going into the postseason is huge. It just gains a lot of momentum, especially against Miami,” said third baseman John Sansone.
Time is also running out if Florida State wants to extend its streak of seasons where it has won 40 games or more. The last time that didn’t happen was 1977, when the Seminoles were 37-13.
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