Florida State baseball set to close out regular season at North Carolina
The Florida State baseball team suffered another heartbreaking loss in Gainesville Tuesday night.
A two-out, two-run home run by Florida's Sterlin Thompson lifted the Gators to a 7-5 win over No. 21 FSU at Condron Ballpark – the second straight season that FSU has lost at UF on a walk-off home run.
With the victory, the Gators won the rivalry series for the first time since 2019. The loss meant the Seminoles squandered a chance to bolster their resume for NCAA Regional hosting consideration.
After FSU was 17th in RPI and UF was 16th entering the game, the Gators are now 13th and the Seminoles are 21st.
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There's no time for FSU to dwell on the loss, however. After getting back to Tallahassee late Tuesday night, the Seminoles (32-19, 15-12 in ACC) hit the road Wednesday for their final games of the regular season this weekend at North Carolina (31-19, 12-15).
FSU plays at UNC Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. All three games will be broadcast online on ACC Network Extra with the FSU radio broadcast on 100.7 FM locally.
These games against the Tar Heels are further chances to boost FSU's hosting chances. UNC comes in at No. 22 in RPI, just one spot behind the Seminoles.
ACC implications at UNC
It's also an important week for FSU's standing in the ACC. The Seminoles enter the final week of the regular season sixth in the conference standings and as one of eight teams that have locked up spots for next week's ACC Tournament in Charlotte.
UNC is not among those eight clinching teams and is one of six teams battling for four spots -- the ACC only allows 12 teams to make its conference tournament -- this weekend.
A strong finish with some help elsewhere could help the Seminoles reach the top four in the conference standings. Being one of the top four teams is an incredible advantage for the ACC Tournament, as those teams are the top seeds in the four pools and advance to the ACC Semifinals if each team in the poll finishes 1-1.
FSU enters the final weekend 1.5 games behind Notre Dame (15-9) and Louisville (16-10-1) in the ACC Atlantic standings. Should FSU manage to catch both of them and finish atop the Atlantic, it would be guaranteed a top-two seed.
Notre Dame plays at ACC Coastal leader Miami this weekend, while Louisville hosts Virginia for a three-game series.
Virginia enters the final weekend one game ahead of FSU in the ACC standings, meaning FSU could pass the Cavaliers if Louisville controls that series.
Virginia Tech enters the final weekend against Duke two games ahead of the Seminoles, meaning FSU isn't too likely to catch the Hokies.
However, passing Virginia and one other team, be it Notre Dame, VT or Miami, is the Seminoles' likeliest path to a top-four ACC seed.
It bears mentioning that NC State enters the final weekend a half-game behind FSU, while Pitt is 1.5 games back. If the series against the Tar Heels goes south for the Seminoles, the possibility of FSU's seed dropping this weekend exists.
Road warriors
Dick Howser Stadium has definitely been home sweet home for the Seminoles this season.
They finished their regular-season home slate with a 26-8 record in home games.
FSU's home record this season is made even more impressive when considering how it played all of its toughest ACC opponents at home. Using the current ACC standings as a rubric, FSU hosted the five toughest ACC teams it played and has played or will play against the five easiest ACC teams on the road.
That hasn't helped the Seminoles a ton, however, as they are 6-11 away from home this season. FSU narrowly won series at Wake Forest and Boston College and dropped road series at Clemson and Georgia Tech.
Bucking that trend and finishing the road slate with an exclamation point may be the biggest key to FSU's chances of hosting an NCAA regional.
No. 21 Florida State at North Carolina
When: Thursday, 6 p.m.; Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where: Kenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill, N.C.
TV/Radio: ACC Network Extra/100.7 FM
Reach Curt Weiler at cweiler@tallahassee.com or follow him on Twitter @CurtMWeiler.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU baseball looks to snag another road ACC series, boost resume at UNC
