The No. 11-ranked and third-seeded Florida State University baseball team finally took the field against No. 14 seed Pittsburgh on Friday, May 22, after a weather delay pushed the start time to 5:15 p.
m. ET.
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Heavy rain in the Charlotte metro area caused a grounding delay of more than two hours at Truist Field.
Officials had originally moved the contest from 7 p. m.
to 3 p. m.
in an attempt to avoid the forecasted inclement weather.
Seminoles Enter with Strong Record
Florida State holds a 38-16 overall record and a 19-11 mark in conference play this season.
The Seminoles earned a double-bye directly into the quarterfinal round of the ACC Baseball Championship.
Pittsburgh advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating sixth-seeded Wake Forest 7-4 on Wednesday, May 20.
Florida State swept the Panthers in a three-game regular season series three weeks ago, outscoring them 24-10.
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Junior left-hander Wes Mendes, the newly crowned ACC Pitcher of the Year, started on the mound for the Seminoles.
Mendes posted a 9-3 record with a 2.57 ERA and 109 strikeouts during the regular season.
On May 2, he threw a complete five-hit game against Pittsburgh, allowing just one run while striking out seven batters without issuing any walks.
Head coach Link Jarrett discussed his pitching rotation strategy on Thursday, May 21.
"Wes (Mendes) will go tomorrow and then (Trey) Beard and (Bryson) Moore and we'll see how we go, like it's a weekend.
It's the beauty of how it actually lined up," Jarrett said.
The winner of Friday's quarterfinal matchup advances to the Saturday semifinal round at 5 p. m.
to face No. 2 seed North Carolina.
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The Tar Heels secured their semifinal berth earlier on Friday by defeating Virginia Tech 10-4.
