Seminoles Eliminate #2 UCLA

The Florida State Seminoles are one step closer to that elusive title in the College World Series. They just took out the UCLA Bruins. UCLA was #2 and the highest ranked team left after the Gators were eliminated a night earlier. With UCLA and Florida knocked out, the highest ranked team is....The Florida State Seminoles. Don't get too excited though.

The Seminoles may now be the favorite on paper, but if you go by where they are at in the bracket they can't be the favorite. FSU will now take on the Arizona Wildcats again. Arizona beat FSU in 12 innings on the 1st day of this tournament. Arizona also has not lost in the CWS yet. In this double elimination tournament, that means that FSU has to beat Arizona twice. Not impossible, but a tall order. I will get to the other side of the bracket after I tell you about last night.

Scott Sitz was the hero for the Seminoles who have had surprisingly strong pitching through this CWS. He went 6 2/3 innings and had 8 huge strikeouts. UCLA had one threat, and Sitz struck out the side to end that threat as soon as possible. Sitz stranded the bases loaded in that instance and helped the Noles secure the victory. He shut down a very good UCLA lineup and only gave up 1 run in the 4-1 Noles victory. Robert Benincasa, the future Nationals closer, earned his 16th save of the season.

The top of the order again was what delivered for the Noles. Sherman Johnson was 2-3 with 2 runs scored. Including scoring on a bunt by Jayce Boyd. Boyd's bunt was so perfect, that Devon Travis also scored on the play after the 3rd baseman didn't field it cleanly. Travis was also 2-3 in the game. The captain, James Ramsey, was also 2-3 with a run scored. Great night from the three at the top, again.

No word yet on Thursday night's starter.

Anyways, back to the bracket. On the other side of the bracket, Arkansas has yet to lose a game, and of course Florida is eliminated. Defending back to back champ South Carolina's winning streak was snapped by Arkansas and they will play Kent State in an elimination game tonight. The winner will meet Arkansas on Thursday and then play again on Friday if they win Thursday night. Hopefully Kent State wins out on their side and plays us for the title. We will see though.

Go Noles!

-Noland

Seminoles Going to Omaha!

The Florida State Seminoles are going to Omaha. After a brilliant offensive display again today, the Noles are going back to the College World Series. This team really deserves it and I like our chances the way we have been swinging the bats...17 runs last night and 18 tonight. Unreal.

If you were following me on Twitter you would know how amazing the victory was. I will share some more here. Hunter Scantling had an extremely huge K that stopped a short-lived Stanford rally. Following the rally the bats of the Noles came through by putting them back up 18-6. Seth Miller capped it off with a grand slam. It was Miller's third of the year and all his homers have been grannies. These guys are awesome.



An awesome note about this one is that Jimbo Fisher was very visible at the game rooting on another team. Classy job Jimbo.

Let's win this one for #11. What a way for Ramsey to go out as a Nole as well.

-Noland

St. Louis Cardinals Select OF James Ramsey

The defending champions had the 23rd pick in this year's MLB Draft. With that 23rd pick, the Cardinals selected FSU OF James Ramsey. The academic All America Player of the Year could eventually join former FSU OF Shane Robinson in the Cardinal outfield. This team knows how to draft, could be why they won it all last year.

Ramsey explained why he turned down the Twins offer last year and he came back to FSU.
"I felt like I had some unfinished business down here at Florida State," said Ramsey. "I felt like I had a huge platform for my faith, and not just the city of Tallahassee, but across all of college athletics. I was the president of two different campus organizations and had some leadership things to tend to for another year. I wanted to finish my degree in the honors program where I finished Magna Cum Laude in finance, really showing that you can go back and earn your degree that no one can take from you. Obviously, I want to go and win a national championship, as well."

He still has a shot at winning that national championship. Hopefully, they pull it off.

-Noland

Seminoles Are Super Regional Bound

#11 has done it again as he helped the Seminoles once again advance to the Super Regionals. The boys did it behind another victory over Samford. During the Tallahassee Regional the Noles didn't even have to play Mississippi State. This is the Noles 5th consecutive Super Regional. Dating back to 1999, the Seminoles are 15-5 in regional play. The MVP of the Super Regional was James Ramsey. In addition to Ramsey, Sherman Johnson, Josh Delph, and Brandon Leibrandt made the All-Tournament Team.

Josh Delph is a freshman right fielder for the Seminoles. I have not talked about him too much to this point, but he was huge in this tournament. Delph had 2 hits, 2 RBIs, a run scored, and a stolen base last night. Which is one of the big reasons for the win and for his inclusion on the Tournament Team.

The biggest reason for the win though was the pitching. Another freshman, Mike Compton, pitched another brilliant game for the Noles. Compton worked 6 innings plus and only gave up 1 earned run. If the Seminoles pitch in the Super Regionals like they did in this regional, then they will be going back to the College World Series.

Since FSU is paired up with the Palo Alto Regional, FSU will be hosting Stanford this weekend. Dates and times will be announced by the NCAA today. There are only 16 teams left and that will be reduced to 8 in a week. Well there is slightly more than 16 left now because some regionals have not been decided. The ACC had a bad weekend as FSU is the only team to advance thus far. NC State is still alive though as the Wolfpack are even with Vanderbilt in their regional. By contrast, the SEC has advanced 4 and could advance as many as 6 by the end of the day, including the Commodores who try to knock off the Wolfpack. The ACC was hurt by poor showings from the Tar Heels, Canes, and Cavs, all #1 seeds. GT and Clemson both gave it a good try, but it was tough to knock off #1 Florida and defending champs SC.

-Noland

FSU Wins Playoff Opener

The Florida State Seminoles have started off the playoffs right with a 2-1 victory over the UAB Blazers last night. Both runs for the Seminoles were scored by my favorite player, Sherman Johnson. Both runs were driven in by the player of the year, James Ramsey. Let's hope Ramsey and Johnson lead us all the way to the National Title.

You can tell by the score, that the Seminoles won mostly by pitching and defense. That pitching effort was led by reliever Gage Smith. Smith, won his 4th game and pitched 3.2 scoreless innings in the victory. Robert Benincasa received his 14th save after working a scoreless 9th inning. By all accounts the defense was led by our outstanding 3rd baseman, Sherman Johnson. He made an outstanding leaping stop and also gunned a guy down at the plate, which prevented UAB from taking the lead.

It gets better. Samford upset Mississippi State so now the Noles will face Samford in the winner's bracket instead of Mississippi State. No offense to Samford and they are a tough team, but I was @ Dick Howser when Mississippi State knocked us out a few years ago. I wanted no part of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Hopefully UAB sends the Bulldogs home today. FSU will play Samford @ 7pm in a game that will air on ESPN2. If they win, they will face the winner of the loser's bracket who will have to beat them twice. FSU is at a huge advantage if they win tonight.

-Noland

Ramsey Named Capital One Academic All America Player of the Year

Florida State Seminole OF James Ramsey just received pretty much the most prestigious honor a college baseball player can receive. The Golden Spikes is the bigger award for baseball, but when measuring a student-athlete it is hard to top this one. James Ramsey won the Capital One Academic All America Player of the Year. Ramsey is just the 2nd Seminole to win the award. Can you guess the other? Yes, it is Buster Posey.

In addition to being the 2nd player to be named player of the year, Ramsey was obviously named 1st team All-America. He did this for the 2nd straight year. Ramsey becomes the 2nd Seminole to do that as well. No, the other one is not Buster Posey. It is actually Greg Gromek (70 & 71). What a great accomplishment by Ramsey.

James Ramsey will lead the Seminoles in the 1st game of the Tallahassee Regional in about an hour.

-Noland

Mike Martin ACC Coach of the Year

Once again, #11 has done it. After leading FSU to their 9th regular season ACC title, Mike Martin has been named ACC Coach of the Year for the 7th time. I know that the award isn't what Martin really wants and that he wants to win that first national title, but he has to be proud of the team.

Outfielder James Ramsey was named ACC player of the year. Ramsey becomes the 5th Seminole to bring home that honor. The others include Buster Posey, JD Drew and John Ford-Griffin. This guy had a great year and deserved the honor.

It goes without saying that Ramsey was an All-ACC first teamer given his honor. Joining Ramsey on the 1st team are 1st baseman Jayce Boyd, 2nd baseman Devon Travis, and relief pitcher Robert Benincasa. Freshman pitcher Mike Compton made the 2nd team. After receiving all of the awards, the Noles will look to win the ACC Tournament.

-Noland