Mike Martin's Last Ride

This weekend was the last opening weekend ever for FSU legend Mike Martin. The living legend is calling it quits after this season. FSU's brilliant coach had a fitting final opener with an 11-0 victory. Eleven to zero in the final opening game for Eleven. If that isn't the perfect opener, I do not know what is. I am sure the fact that his team had a no-hitter made it even better. It was the 10th no hitter in program history. Maybe this year, we will see the 11th as well?

Drew Parrish, Conor Grady, and Chase Haney combined for the no-hitter. Parrish had 5 strikeouts over 5 innings of work to notch his first of what will be many victories for the Seminoles this season...

Onto Game 2..

Game 2 was another slugfest. The Noles won that one 16-3 on Saturday. CJ Van Eck picked up the win in that one. Van Eck had 8 strikeouts in 5 innings of work.

Game 3 ended in a walk-off!!!!!

The Noles swept the doubleheader of the opening series on Saturday with a walk off hit against Maine. Mat Nelson's sacrifice fly was able to score JC Flowers from 3rd base and deliver the win for the Seminoles. Flowers has been a multi-year starter for Martin and pinch ran before ultimately delivering the winning run. Flowers had an outstanding weekend scoring 6 runs on just 5 official at-bats. He had a tremendous start to the series to move the Noles to 3-0 in Martin's final campaign. What an exciting win for the Noles and a great way to send 11 out right.

This series against Maine had a 4th game on Sunday. The Noles won that one too, to move to 4-0. With that 9-1 victory over Maine on Sunday, the Noles sure like like a force to be reckoned with in 2019. 11 has got another awesome team on his hands.

Who could have written a better script for this weekend? I am not sure who could have, but there is only one thing that can top this season and this legendary career. Let's finally send this guy off right and get him that win in Omaha. That would truly be a fitting end to a legendary career.

- Noland

College and MLB Baseball Season Preview

Because of the countdown on likable athletes I was doing I was a little late on my college baseball preview. Late is better than never though and it will be included in this post along with the MLB season preview. Since, the college baseball season is underway, it will include some information from the first month of the season.

College Baseball

We will start with the Seminoles since they are the main focus of this blog. FSU has had a decent start to the season and is ranked by every major year. This is predicted to be a down year by FSU standards with most rankings having FSU around 20. That prediction means FSU will likely have a 2 seed heading into regional play. I would say that prediction is likely accurate based on what I have seen so far. The Noles have lost a lot of talent and it doesn't appear likely they will deliver that elusive title for #11. An early season loss to Jacksonville does not convince me otherwise. The losses to Georgia don't make me feel any better. However, they did win one game 24-1 against USF so there is some hope. FSU losses by the Super Regionals this year though I am afraid.

Since I do not like to pick repeat winners, I will not be picking Vanderbilt to win in college. Instead, I will be picking the LSU Tigers (who look like the best team anyway). These guys will be the most complete team and likely will get the job done. Expect Virginia and Vanderbilt to be among the top teams in Omaha with them. It kills me that the Gators and Canes will likely have better teams than the Noles this year, but at least neither should win their conference. Virginia should win the ACC and either Vanderbilt or LSU should win the SEC. It should be a heck of a college baseball season.

MLB Predictions

Now, on to the professional circuit. These predictions will be a little more in depth. I will pick all the playoff teams and the overall winner.

AL East Champ: Baltimore Orioles
AL Central Champ: Kansas City Royals
AL West Champ: Seattle Mariners
Wild Card 1: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Wild Card 2: Boston Red Sox

The most exciting race by far should be the AL West because there are three teams that are absolutely loaded. However, I believe that the small additions to their lineup put Seattle over the top. Seattle is a team that just missed last year and they have a top 2 as good as anyone in the rotation. Nobody questions the pitching that Seattle has and the lineup is coming around. Those guys can't do any better at loading up this lineup. The addition of Nelson Cruz along with that pitching makes this team a serious postseason threat. For some reason, Nelson Cruz is lights out in the playoffs. That guy will deliver some serious goods for the Mariners in the playoffs. They will win the American League period with him complementing Robinson Cano and that brilliant rotation.
The Angels just miss the AL West and capture the Wild Card advancing to the division and perhaps even the championship series. Oakland will not be a player in these playoffs in my opinion. They don't have the talent, but you have heard that about them before.
Another exciting race will be the American League East which comes down to three teams IMO. Those teams will be Baltimore, Boston, and Toronto. Each is a legit threat to the WS crown and not just the AL East Crown. Baltimore is the surest thing because we now how that team operates and Buck gets the job done. I would obviously love to see Baltimore take home the hardware. However, Boston and Toronto each made brilliant offseason moves and cannot be taken lightly. The Rays went full tank mode this offseason though so they will be murdered in this brilliant AL East. A lot of Baltimore's hopes lie in the health of their superstars Matt Wieters and Manny Machado. If 100% healthy, Baltimore will look to do some serious damage in Major League Baseball this season.
Boston upgraded their offense a tremendous amount and also added Rick Porcello so it is hard to see them with another last place finish. They should be right there with Baltimore and Toronto. The Blue Jays should finally make a push, especially after adding a top 30 player in Josh Donaldson. This should be a very fun race.
I predict that the Tigers will start to fall off after losing two top tier starters and the Royals will fill that void in the Central with all of their young talent.

NL East Champ: Washington Nationals
NL Central Champ: Pittsburgh Pirates
NL West Champ: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card 1: Chicago Cubs
NL Wild Card 2: San Diego Padres

Just like the American League, the most exciting National League race will be out West. Even the Diamondbacks are improved and there are four really solid teams out West. The Diamondbacks however are a step behind 3 other clubs in the division. Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco should all be better than Arizona. At least 2 of those 3 will make the playoffs and I wouldn't be surprised if all three did. The Giants are the defending champs and have a ton of talent, but a lot of hope rises on two players. With Panda leaving that puts even more burden on Bumgarner and Posey. As good as that duo is, I have them just out of the playoffs in a loaded NL West. The trades San Diego has made along with the signing of James Shields makes them a legitimate threat. It looks great on paper, but will it work out? That is the million dollar question. There is no doubt though that if healthy and 100% that is the best outfield in baseball. Justin Upton and Matt Kemp together and with Myers, are you kidding me?
The team that traded Matt Kemp will still be the class of the West though. The Dodgers have the best pitcher in the game and the most talent overall. They upgraded a few spots as they added Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins along with some other pieces. The defense that Los Angeles puts on the field should be vastly improved over last year. Pitching and defense is quite important in this game, so that is a good sign. They should be right around where they were.
The NL East should be a cakewalk for the Nationals as they will be the favorites to run through the entire NL. That rotation is the best on paper since the 90s Braves. If a team does compete in the East it will be Miami. All the others are looking at the middle of a rebuild while the Marlins are a team on the rise and Washington is built to win now.
The NL Central is incredibly weak and that lends opportunity to a few teams. Cincinnati will be down and Milwaukee should be as well. St. Louis could easily also be trending down which should make Pittsburgh the favorite. Even though Pittsburgh is the favorite though, look out because he comes Joe Maddon and those Chicago Cubs. Chicago will be much improved and I believe will get a wild card spot.

MLB Playoffs
ALDS: Mariners over Angels
ALDS: Orioles over Royals
ALCS: Mariners over Orioles
NLDS: Dodgers over Padres
NLDS; Nationals over Pirates
NLCS: Dodgers over Nationals

Once the playoffs come around, things should get interesting. Over in the American League I think the pitching of the Seattle Mariners proves to be too much. With King Felix and Iwakuma pitching and that revamped lineup, it will be difficult to beat the Mariners. Don't forget that this team barely missed the playoffs last year and could have easily taken down the Royals and made that run themselves. Add Nelson Cruz to that lineup and a full season of Austin Jackson and this team is the favorites to me. The Orioles and Angels each provide good chances of preventing that from happening as each has an explosive lineup. Baltimore also has really good pitching as well, but it remains to be seen if Wieters and/or Machado can stay healthy throughout the year.
The National League has more contenders for the World Series title than the American League this year I believe. If you look at the NL West, there are 3 strong contenders right there. The Nationals are a threat as are the Marlins and Pirates. Don't be shocked if Chicago gets in the mix too. With that being said, the Dodgers and Nationals should prove to be the class of the National League all year long. These teams have the most talent and are both built to win now. It is time to put up or shut up for these two franchises and I believe that they are headed for a collision course in the NLCS. That NLCS is where I think the Dodgers separate themselves though. LA has the far superior lineup and they have the best pitcher in baseball. Kershaw has a postseason this year like MadBum had last year and proves to be the best there is in the game of baseball. You lose two games to Kershaw and those bats will win two more. Ya the Nationals have the best rotation, but their team can't score against LA's rotation and especially will struggle with Kershaw on the bump. This will set up the dream World Series.

World Series
Mariners over Dodgers

This is the dream World Series matchup for any baseball fan whether they acknowledge it or not. Kershaw vs. King Felix on the biggest stage of them all. The two best pitchers in the game going head to head. I not only would love to see it, I think we will get to see this incredible matchup. In the end, I think Seattle wins this dream matchup because I think Iwakuma will outduel the Dodgers #2 guy. Kershaw will have to beat Felix at least twice to prevent Seattle from being the World Series Champs.

It should be a fun baseball season though.
Go O's and Go Noles!

-Noland

Former Seminole Hits Walk Off HR

My wife's favorite Seminole baseball player came through in a big way last night for his new team. Devon Travis hit his first walk off home run as a professional lifting the Connecticut Tigers to victory. Watch the shot below.

While I was slightly disgruntled that Devon Travis left FSU, you can't blame the guy. Most people do not realize that baseball only gets 11.78 scholarships, so most players aren't even on full ride and have to pay for school in some cases. No shame in getting paid to play baseball. Since he is now a professional, I am glad he is succeeding. Travis is a class act and will always be a Seminole. I just wish the Orioles got him. The Tigers sure got a good one.

-Noland

Justin Gonzalez Returning

After the amazing season FSU had, FSU fans expected many departures into pro ball. However, they did not expect this many. We lost our senior class, including James Ramsey and Sherman Johnson. Also Devon Travis, long expected to stay, signed with the Detroit Tigers. Jayce Boyd, signed with the Braves. It was starting to look like we would lose everyone that got drafted.

We didn't lose everyone though. Justin Gonzalez our SS is coming back. The man at the most important position in the infield is coming back to be surrounded by a whole new infield. Gonzalez will be the undisputed leader on the field of FSU baseball in 2013. Is there anyway Gonzalez can help us return to another College World Series?

It will certainly be a tall order to return to Omaha, but Gonzalez coming back definitely increases our chances. He has been the starting SS for two years and should be a very effective leader as a senior. FSU will only have 4 seniors though as Gonzo is joined by Scott Sitz, Seth Miller, and Stephen Spradling. You have to remember though that FSU is coached by the great Mike Martin. They weren't supposed to do this last year either. However, Martin helped FSU exceed expectations and beat that preseason ranking once again. FSU will try to have another magical season in 2013. #11 will continue that quest for a championship, and Justin Gonzalez will attempt to deliver it for him.
"Knowing that we will have Justin in our line-up and out on the field certainly gives us a good feeling about the 2013 squad." - Mike Martin

-Noland

Mike Martin National Coach of the Year

For the 1st time ever, Mike Martin is Baseball America's National Coach of the Year. This announcement was made on June 29th, but due to a 15 hour drive, I am just getting to it now. I am a big supporter of #11 so this is great news as far as I am concerned.

Martin led the Seminoles to 50 wins for the 24th time!
He led them to a 15th trip to Omaha!

Perhaps this was Martin's best coaching job though because they weren't predicted to win the conference. They began the season ranked 20th by BA and finished in the top 5. These guys were ranked #1 for a large portion of the season, and played their hearts out for #11. They didn't lose in the Regionals or Super Regionals, and the only team they lost to in the CWS (Arizona) won the whole thing without a loss. FSU pushed AZ to extras in the opening game.

Martin becomes the 2nd ACC coach to win this award. The only other one to do it, is North Carolina's Mike Fox (2008).

This guy is a legend and a class act. I will say it all day long. Anyone that thinks he should be ousted due to no national titles is very ill-advised. Martin does what is right, and in the wake of all the scandals in college sports, what more can you ask for. He even suspended a starter during the CWS rather than try to postpone the suspension like some things.

"There is never a wrong time to do the right thing." -Mike Martin

Well, Baseball America, nice job doing the right thing.

Congrats to #11!

-Noland

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 Survive

Tonight, the Seminoles kept their championship hopes alive by knocking out Stony Brook. Mike Martin's quest for that championship lives on. The next opponent is TBD. Whoever loses the UCLA-Arizona game tonight will be the Noles opponent.

The Seminoles advance behind a 12-2 victory and a fantastic performance by Freshman pitcher Mike Compton. Compton continues to be a huge difference maker for the Noles. Justin Gonzalez had a key three run homer in the victory. Gonzalez was drafted by the Dodgers as a defensive shortstop, so they have to be thrilled with Gonzalez's offense as of late. These Noles have now score 10+ runs in 3 of the 4 playoff games since the Regional. Hopefully, the Noles can score like this Tuesday night against their Pac 12 opponent.

Go Noles!

-Noland

Who Will the Noles Play in the CWS?

So we know the Noles are in and we are all excited. There are 8 teams that play in the College World Series though. Who are the other 7? Well only a few have been announced yet, but I thought I'd post some pics from the victory first. If you want one of the shirts posted, head to Seminoles.com and click on the shop. You will find them easily.

You can tell by the shirts that there are 5 teams who advanced and that there are three to still be decided. Unfortunately, our rivals and the current #1 overall seed, the Florida Gators advanced. The #2 team was UCLA and they also advanced. We were the #3 overall seed. Any time the top 3 teams advance it looks like chalk city, but as Lee Corso says "not so fast my friends."

Cinderella has also joined the dance. Stony Brook who was a 4th seed in a regional which is basically a 16th seed has advanced to the College World Series. Not just that, but they look hungry. They knocked Miami out and won the Coral Gables Regional. From there they went to the Baton Rouge Super Regional and knocked out the #7 overall LSU Tigers. What a huge win for the Stony Brook team. Just a few years ago Stony Brook was Division 3. Now they are 1 of 8 teams left. In case you were wondering, Gausman (the Orioles 1st rounder) won game 1 for the Tigers in relief and then lost game 2 as a starter.

The other team to advance already was the Arizona Wildcats. Arizona was a #1 seed, but not in the top 8 national seeds. So they are somewhere between 9-16. If you do the math, Arizona would have been matched up with UNC who was #7 so that would put Arizona @ #10 in this tournament. Therefore, 4 top 10 teams have advanced so far and we can get 3 more.

#5 Oregon is currently tied with the Cinderella Kent State @ 1 game a piece. Will another top 10 get in or will we have two Cinderellas.

Two time defending champion and #8 South Carolina is up one game on Oklahoma. Oklahoma would love to knock out the reigning champs. Meanwhile, SC would love the three-peat.

Finally, #3 Baylor is taking on SEC powerhouse Arkansas. While Arkansas is a 2 seed, they are more than capable of taking down Baylor. That series is tied at a game a piece. This could be the positive news that Arkansas is desperately looking for following the Petrino scandal.

-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

Seminoles Destroy Stanford

Today is my wife's birthday. She is amazing and another FSU grad. She also runs a zoo blog with me and runs another blog by herself. Today she is doing a huge giveaway on her blog, so I invite you to check it out. Anyways, the Seminoles baseball team gave her an early birthday present last night and I am going to write about it here.

Florida State won last night 17-1. They absolutely crushed the Stanford Cardinal. Not just that, but they did it against Mark Appel. Appel lasted only 4 innings against the Noles. He walked 4(with the Orioles walk problems out of starters, I am glad we passed). The noise at Dick Howser noticeably got to him and he was unable to adjust. Those Seminole bats didn't help out much either. Despite only giving up 5 hits, Appel gave up 7 runs in those 4 innings of work.

Then the bullpen entered for Stanford and got hammered. They gave up 10 runs over 4. Stanford didn't even pitch 9 innings and gave up 17. That is a true testament to the Seminoles ability to hit the baseball.

That offense was paced by Devon Travis. All the Seminoles were mashing, but none better than Travis. He went 3-5, scored 3 times, drove in 6, and hit 2 home runs. The home runs were his 6th and 7th of the season. Even taking out the RBIs, Travis beat the Cardinal by himself with 2 home runs. Absolutely an incredible performance by the 2nd baseman for the Seminoles. Hope he can keep it up.

Brandon Leibrandt was again fantastic for the Noles on the mound picking up the victory. He was also named to the Freshman All-American team earlier in the day. These Noles are not playing around. Now, these Noles are one win away from a trip to Omaha.

-Noland

Seminoles Drafted So Far

Yesterday, I posted about FSU OF James Ramsey being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, today several more players were picked for the greatest university around.

This included my cousin's Washington Nationals selecting FSU closer Robert Benincasa. This is an awesome pick for the Nasty Nats who desperately need a closer. Benincasa should quickly rise through the system and help the Nats in the near future.

The New York Mets selected FSU 1B Jayce Boyd. I selfishly want Boyd to return next year and be a difficult sign for the Mets. However, I am very happy for Jayce and his selection and wish him well with the Mets if that is what he chooses.

The Los Angeles Angels selected 3B Sherman Johnson. Johnson is my favorite Seminole, but he has no more eligibility left. He should be an easy sign for the Angels and hopefully will contribute a great deal. He was drafted as a 2B for the Angels, which is where he started originally. I think Johnson will exceed his pick and end up with the big team one day.

The Detroit Tigers selected 2B Devon Travis. Travis is my wife's favorite Nole and really brings it every time out. He can come back and may likely come back, but will do well in their organization should he go to Detroit.

-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

Seminoles One Win Away From Hosting Super Regional

The San Antonio Spurs got hosed in OK City last night, but the rest of the sports day went well. We went to a fantastic Orioles game yesterday, and the Seminoles pulled out a victory against Samford. That win puts my beloved Noles only 1 win away from winning this regional.

In order to lose the regional, FSU must lose twice. They will play the winner of Mississippi State and Samford in the regional final. I would prefer Samford again, but that is just me. The first game will take place at 6pm tonight. Hopefully it is the last game of the regional, because if it is, then the Seminoles are advancing.

Florida State won 8-1 behind an absolutely brilliant pitching performance. Freshman Brandon Leibrandt led the Noles with a brilliant pitching performance. He tossed 8 scoreless innings last night for the Noles. If Leibrandt can replicate this performance a couple more times, he might just lead FSU to a national championship. Leibrandt also had 10 strikeouts. He had the first double digit strikeout game since Sean Gilmartin. Gilmartin, who I will post on soon, is in the Atlanta Braves organization.

FSU now has 144 all time victories in regional/superregional play. According to Seminoles.com they are in the process of becoming the winningest school because of that. It doesn't say what the current record is though. Either way, it is a tribute to #11. FSU has a current Regional winning streak of 15 games as well. Let's hope they make it 16 straight and advance to the Super Regional. Mike Martin wants that title.

-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

FSU Takes Series vs. NC State (Ties Record)

FSU beat NC State on Friday to wrap up the top seed in the ACC Tournament. Following that performance, they beat NC State again yesterday to take the series. Beating the Wolfpack is no small task. These guys are #13 in the nation and very solid all around. FSU was able to wrap up play in the regular season with this victory. They managed to go 43-12 with a very brutal schedule including 24-6 in the tough ACC. That total of 24 wins ties a record for most in conference history.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets clinched the 8th seed in the tournament on Wednesday. Since the tournament only holds 8 teams, that means they will be the Noles first opponent. On Wednesday, in Greensboro, the Noles will take on the Yellow Jackets. Time is TBD. Along with the Jackets in the Noles half of the bracket will be 4th seeded UVA and 5th seeded Clemson. Should be interesting to see if the Noles can pull out another ACC Tournament Title. It would certainly be good momentum heading into the regional.

-Noland

Magic Number Remains 1

After the Florida State Seminoles took only one game from the Clemson Tigers, their magic number moved from 2 to 1 for the top seed in the ACC tournament. They are battling with the North Carolina Tar Heels for that top seed. During that series with Clemson the Noles wrapped up the Atlantic Division. Now, FSU can do no worse than a 2 seed in the ACC tournament. It sure would be nice to get that one seed though, considering FSU has spent a good portion of this season as the #1 team in the entire nation.

Unfortunately, FSU just lost game one of their next series against NC State. The Wolfpack beat the Noles 10-5 and leave the Seminoles trying to get that top seed. This has not been the best week for FSU baseball, but they will rebound strong. While the Noles lost, UNC won again. This magic number just is not happening for the Noles. Two games left, and we must win one. It will happen and the Noles will try to win the ACC tourney.

-Noland

Noles Rained Out, Magic Number Remains 2

Today due to an incredible amount of rain, Game 2 of the Clemson-FSU series was rained out. Clemson took Game 1 against the Noles. Entering this series FSU was up 6 on Clemson and 5 on NC State for the #1 spot in the Atlantic. That is basically locked up. All teams have 6 games remaining, and FSU plays NC State after Clemson. FSU isn't just looking for the top seed in the Atlantic though, the Noles want #1 in the ACC.

To get that #1 seed overall in the ACC the top ranked Noles have a magic number of 2. Their top threat is North Carolina. FSU coach Mike Martin said it will be difficult to do against Clemson. He said it will be difficult to do this weekend because Clemson is the hardest place to play in the conference. The Tigers proved that last night.

This always seems to happen when the Seminoles play Clemson. In 2010 FSU only needed 1 win to win the division and Clemson swept the Noles. Clemson ended up winning the division that year. Last year, FSU needed one win and only got one win. It sure will be tough against the Tigers. Let's hope FSU takes the double header tomorrow to save us the trouble.

The Noles likely will lose their top ranking soon with three losses this week, but they will still be ranked high. This week will be a good week for FSU baseball.

-Noland

Seminole Baseball

The Florida State Seminole baseball team is one of the classiest teams in all of college sports. The tradition for the team is unparalleled and Mike Martin is a class act. He also has 1700 career wins. Steve Melewski over at MASN had some really nice words about the Seminole baseball program today. Just like all Noles, Melewski is a class act. Steve was out radio broadcaster in the mid 2000s and is proud of his time in Tallahassee. The Seminole baseball team is one to be proud of. Dick Howser is the best coach in college baseball. I am now and will always be proud to be a Florida State Alum. Check out Steve's post here. He commented on my comment during the post. You can also follow Steve on twitter @masnSteve. Melewski now of course covers the Baltimore Orioles.

-Noland