The crowd cheering, the Marching Chiefs playing, and fans arguing would probably make you think you were inside Doak Campbell, waiting to watch the football program take the field. Well, you would be wrong because that is the atmosphere that will be inside Dick Howser stadium this Friday night as the No.4 Florida State Seminoles welcome the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest for a pivotal ACC conference series.
This marks the 136th meeting between these two programs, with Florida State holding a 97-38 all-time series lead. The series dates back to June 4th,1962, when the Seminoles, who were led by Head Coach Danny Litwiler, took the first meeting by a score of 3-2 in 11 innings en route to the 1962 NCAA District 3 championship and a trip to Omaha. The Seminoles in that game would be led on the mound by Ray McShane, who went 9.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out five Deacs.
Fast forward to last season, the Seminoles and Deacs met four times, splitting the games at two games apiece. Wake took the regular season series, winning two of the three games. However, the Seminoles would get revenge when it counted in the ACC tournament, sending the Deacs packing with a 9-6 victory behind a strong performance from John Abraham on their way to the ACC championship game.
The Deacs enter Dick Howser with a 21-9 record and 7-5 in conference play. They are in the midst of their worst stretch of the season, going 4-6 over their last ten games. The Deacs are a HUGE question mark coming into this weekend, as they have struggled against sub-par competition with shocking losses to UNC Greensboro (0-4), Maryland (8-9), Princeton (6-7), and Liberty (8-11). Still, they have shown flashes as they have ACC series sweeps against two programs that gave the Noles trouble in Miami and Notre Dame and were ranked eleventh in the D1 top 25 just two weeks ago. The Deacs have since dropped two consecutive ACC weekend series against Clemson and were swept by Virginia Tech this past weekend.
As for the Seminoles, they are coming off a concerning 11-10 victory against Jacksonville on Tuesday night, which has left Coach Link Jarrett and the fan base on edge. After the game, Coach Jarrett remarked, “We were fortunate to come out with a win, and it was not easy.” He added, “That game never felt like it was ours… it didn’t feel secure until the last out. We escaped.” Now, the Seminoles welcome a dangerous Wake Forest team to Mike Martin Field. Despite their record, Wake Forest is considered one of the best teams in the ACC. Let’s jump right into this series and take a closer look at the Demon Deacons.
Friday, April 4, 8 p.m. ET
Watch: ACC Network
Listen: WFLA 100.7 FM | FSU Gameday App | Seminoles.com
FSU Jr. LHP Jamie Arnold (3-1, 3.07 ERA) vs. WF Jr. RHP Luke Schmolke (3-0, 2.14 ERA)
Saturday, April 5, 4 p.m. ET
Military Appreciation Game
Watch: ACC Network Extra
Listen: WFLA 100.7 FM | FSU Gameday App | Seminoles.com
FSU r-Jr. LHP Joey Volini (7-0, 1.25 ERA) vs. WF Jr. RHP Logan Lunceford (4-2, 4.36 ERA)
Sunday, April 6, 1 p.m. ET
First Responders Day
Watch: ACC Network Extra
Listen: WFLA 100.7 FM | FSU Gameday App | Seminoles.com
FSU So. LHP Wes Mendes (4-0, 2.83 ERA) vs. WF So. RHP Blake Morningstar (3-0, 2.29 ERA)
Despite Wake Forest’s record, their success this season can be mostly attributed to its offense. The Deacs have one of the best offenses in the ACC ranking first in RBI (272), second in runs (281), home runs (56), and third in batting average (.319), hits (325), doubles (69), slugging percentage (.560), and walks (201). This Wake offense is averaging 9.3 runs per game and is top 20 in hits (15th, 325), runs (11th, 281), home runs (8th, 56), and on-base percentage (7th, .443) nationally.
Wakes has a dangerous offense and, quite frankly, is the best this FSU pitching staff has seen. They have six of their bats hitting over .300 and slugging over .500, with three of those six slugging over .700. This Deacs offense is led by a star-studded offensive trio, consisting of Junior SS Marek Houston, who has 10 homers and boasts 43 RBI with 45 hits. Junior OF Ethan Conrad, who is returning from a broken finger during the early part of spring camp but is hitting .372 with a .709 slugging percentage and has driven in 27 RBI. Then, you have Sophomore DH Kade Lewis, who leads the team with a .447 batting average, 46 hits, and 10 home runs. The three have a combined .401 average, 27 HR, and 112 RBI this season.
Other major contributors that the Noles pitching staff needs to keep an eye on are Freshman 3B Dalton Wentz (.331 average and Freshman Luke Costello, who leads the Demon Deacons at the plate over the last five games, going 6-for-13 (.462) with a pair of doubles and his first career home run.
On the defensive side, fielding has been a sore spot for Wake Forest as they have an ACC-worst 41 errors and .960 fielding percentage. In addition, they are one of only four ACC teams that haven’t thrown out a runner in conference play and have thrown out just 2 all season. This led to the league’s second-worst stolen base allowed percentage of .895 across all games. In terms of fielding, their main issues have been at 3B, where both Kade Lewis (7 errors) and Dalton Wentz (4 errors) have struggled. They also feature three other players with 3+ errors, with SS Marek Houston having 6 errors, 2B/LF Antonio Morales with 4, and CF Ethan Conrad adding 3.
Wake’s dominance on the mound has been what helped them become one of the best teams in the ACC in the past few years. But, gone are two top-six MLB draftees, Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder, which has put pressure on the new rotation and bullpen coming into this year. Regardless, the Deacs’ current pitching staff has impressed, with a combined team ERA of 4.30 and WHIP of 1.25 (as opposed to opponents’ ERA of 10.66 and WHIP of 2.24). The team’s top-tier performance from the mound is highlighted by three starters–Junior RHP Logan Lunceford (4-2, 4.45 ERA), Sophomore LHP Matthew Dallas (3-1, 6.23 ERA) and Sophomore RHP Blake Morningstar (3-0, 2.29 ERA).
On Friday, the Deacs will roll out a fresh arm in junior RHP Luke Schmolke (3-0, 2.14 ERA), who will be making his first start of the season for the Deacs, replacing Matthew Dallas as Wake Forest adjusts its weekend rotation. This marks his first career start at Wake Forest, as he sat out the 2024 season due to transfer rules. Schmolke has a long and loose arm action, with a sidestep into a leg lift that rises just above the belt, showcasing a significant amount of whip and arm speed. He delivers from an over-the-top arm slot, exhibiting a steep downhill plane at times, along with good movement.
Of his three pitches, his fastball is his bread-and-butter pitch, which ranges from 89 to 92 mph and has peaked at 94 mph. His curveball, which hits 78-81mph, features a sharp, hammer-like bite, projecting as a potential out pitch for the future. He has also developed a nice change-up. Overall, he has a very strong three-pitch mix and consistently generates swing-and-miss results. So far this season, he has thrown a season-high of 65 pitches in 21 innings of relief work. He boasts a 2.14 ERA, striking out 30 batters while walking nine and allowing 12 hits so far this season.
Saturday is the matchup to watch as Wake is starting RHP Logan Lunceford (4-2, 4.45 ERA), who has opposing teams hitting only .161 on the season and has allowed sixteen runs (all earned) on eighteen hits. Lunceford has fanned 56 batters while only walking fifteen in seven starts. Lunceford is a 5-foot-10 right-hander with a low release point and a good four pitch mix of fastball, changeup, curveball, and a gyro slider. His fastball sits at only 90-92 mph but has hit 94mph at times. It does have plenty of carry, and he throws it at a flat angle, which allows a lot of movement, generating a 32% whiff rate.
Lunceford’s best pitch is his changeup, which sits in the upper 70s and falls off the table with a tailing shape. It’s his primary off-speed pitch in two-strike counts and is one of the better changeups I’ve seen this year. He also throws a 12-6 curveball, which has depth to it but also tends to be soft and easy to ID out of the hand. Interestingly, he uses it more as a pitch to steal strikes early in counts rather than as a put-away pitch; he throws the curve 12% of the time overall, but 21% of the time in 0-0 counts. This pitch fits well in a starter’s arsenal, but I’d like to see him find a gyro-type slider to add to the repertoire as another off-speed pitch that looks sharp with a late, downer break. He hides the ball well, helping the fastball play up, and he has it all working; he is difficult to hit.
On Sunday, the Noles will see Blake Morningstar who arrived in Winston-Salem as a freshman last year after being rated the #1 right-handed pitcher out of Pennsylvania. He’s had a stellar first season in the ACC as he is 3-0 on the season posting a 2.29 ERA and holding opponents to a .189 batting average and struck out 44 batters. So, what should the Noles expect from Morningstar?
Morningstar has a high leg raise delivery, long and high arm takeaway in back with a 3/4 arm slot coming through, and has some energy at release. His fastball works in the low 90s and tops out at 94 mph. He gets nice sink and run at times. He also throws a curveball, which is one of his best pitches with good power and big spin, big sweeping action, lands it for strikes and has feel for the pitch, dominating with the curveball but getting plenty of Swing/Miss on the fastball as well. The Noles need to look for his slider because it’s what he relies on about 90% of the time, which is in the low-to-mid 80s, and it is at his best when he is able to mix in the changeup
A series sweep would be nice, but I’m not expecting that because, despite their record, Wake is a good team. The biggest thing I will be looking at this weekend is whether the Noles’ pitching staff can find their edge now that they have returned home. This all starts Friday night with Jamie Arnold, who in his last two starts has not been himself, but being back inside Howser and on his mound should bring Arnold his spark back. Go Noles!
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