The Citadel baseball team will travel to Tallahassee for a three-game series against the #21 Florida State Seminoles from February 27 to March 1. The series marks the Bulldogs’ first matchup this season against a ranked opponent.
Friday’s game is scheduled to begin at noon, while Saturday and Sunday games are set for 1 pm. All three contests will be broadcast on ACCNX.
The probable starting pitchers for The Citadel are Will Holmes (1-1, 5.59 ERA) on Friday, Bryce Coulter (0-0, 6.75 ERA) on Saturday, and Michael Gibson (1-0, 6.14 ERA) on Sunday. Florida State will counter with Wes Mendes (1-0, 0.00 ERA), Trey Beard (0-0, 11.57 ERA), and Bryson Moore (0-0, 7.50 ERA).
Weather forecasts predict temperatures in the 70s throughout the weekend with a high of 79 degrees expected on Sunday. There is a chance of rain and thunderstorms during Friday’s game.
Florida State enters the series with a record of 5-2 after defeating North Florida earlier in the week by a score of 14-9. The Seminoles have posted a .294 team batting average along with seven home runs and 52 RBIs through their first seven games. Myles Bailey leads Florida State hitters with a .476 average and four home runs, while Noah Sheffield has driven in ten runs so far this season.
On the mound, Florida State pitchers have combined for an earned run average of 5.19 over 59 innings pitched, recording 82 strikeouts as a staff. Payton Manca holds a team-best record of two wins and one loss; Wes Mendes has not allowed an earned run in his first ten-plus innings.
Historically, Florida State leads the all-time series between these teams nine games to one. Their last meeting was on March 26, 2003, when Florida State won by a score of 10-2.
The Citadel comes into the weekend after sweeping Marshall twice and defeating Army by six runs last weekend. Zach Hunt contributed two home runs during those games while Will Holmes struck out nine batters over five-and-two-thirds innings against Marshall—his career best—and Riley Ballard earned his first career win as a starter versus Army.
After this road trip, The Citadel will return home to Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park for a midweek contest against Georgia Southern on March 4 at 6 pm.
