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 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

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

#1 FSU Sweeps Miami

Always good to beat Miami. It's also always good to be the #1 team in the country. FSU baseball continues to impress going undefeated this week including 3 wins over #18 Miami. Very impressive  performance by the Noles. They now move to 33-7 overall with only 2 losses in ACC play. Let us get back to these games though. Miami has perhaps the most annoying fan base in the country. My first sporting event as a student at FSU was the game that snapped Miami's winning streak in football. That whole game the Hurricane faithful were loud, obnoxious, and cocky. After the game they were still loud, obnoxious, and cocky trying to call back to past games. It was great to see those people watch their team lose. Whenever FSU is able to knock them off it is incredibly sweet.

This win came on a walkoff in 10 innings. An even better way to beat the Canes. Sherman Johnson had the walk off single and went 2 for 6 in the game. Johnson has been my favorite Seminole baseball player for the last three seasons. I love the way that guy plays, and it was great to see him deliver the victory. I wouldn't mind that guy being picked up by the Orioles after this season.

Hopefully, Florida State will be able to keep this momentum going and maintain their top ranking. Mike Martin is a really good man and seeing him get a title would be amazing. There is not a more deserving coach in the country. I sure hope they pull it off. Up next for the Seminoles will be the Rhode Island Rams.

-Noland