The Seminoles return to Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium aiming to continue their strong start to the season following a 6-2 victory over USF on Tuesday night. The No. 9 Seminoles (4-0) played well but not flawlessly against the Bulls. They recorded 11 hits and drew four walks to defeat USF. However, it wasn’t as clean as Coach Jarrett would have liked.
The first three innings were a pitching duel between FSU’s Evan Chrest and USF’s Bryce Archie with each pitcher working three scoreless frames to start the game. Bryce Archie did a good job keeping the Seminole batters off balance which led to Archie ending his day only allowing three hits and recording 4 strikeouts (Harrelson, Bailey, Williams, and Fisher) in just three innings of work before being pulled for Landen Yorek. The Seminoles’ fortunes changed with Yorek on the mound as Jaxson West drew a walk in the fourth and was followed by a Drew Faurot single. Chase Williams would plate both after he hit a triple to right field that just stayed on the fair side of the foul line. A Max Williams solo home run (2) in the fifth gave the Seminoles a 3-0 cushion and would wind up scoring six runs on eleven hits.
What concerned me was an issue we had last year reared its ugly head in the ninth inning, and that was the bullpen issues. We got our first look at transfer right-handed Evan Chrest, who threw just over four innings, allowing one run on five hits while striking out four. The issue I was worried about in the preseason was when the starter came out what would follow, as last season if the starter didn’t go deep into the game the bullpen would fail to carry this team through the end of the game. Chrest was replaced by John Abraham in the fifth inning after giving up back-to-back hits to Bull’s third baseman Carter Murphy and leadoff batter Ryan Pruitt. Abraham would get the win for the Noles pitching only one and one-third innings giving up one hit and striking out two. This is the fifth consecutive win in the series against USF, and the fifth on the road.
However, pitching in the final three outs is what concerned me. When Abraham exited the game, Ben Barrett entered the bottom of the seventh and pitched a strong two innings allowing only one run on three hits. Barrett was replaced in the ninth after allowing two hits and a sac fly in the three batters he faced. This is where it almost slipped away, and I give Coach Jarrett and Coach Posey credit for not letting it go to far after Connor Hults replaced Barrett and had a hard time finding the zone only throwing five pitches and walking the one batter he faced. This led to the Noles bringing in Peyton Prescott who would finish the game by striking out shortstop Bradke Lohry on seven pitches and forcing catcher Lance Tripple to ground out to Lodise at shortstop to end the game.
In baseball you have to have a short-term memory, now the Seminoles must turn their attention to the Pennsylvania Quakers who is no slouch as they have won a piece of either the Ivy League regular season title or Ivy League Tournament titles in each of the last three seasons, and last season earn a berth into its second straight NCAA Regional. So, here is everything you need to know ahead of this weekend’s matchup against the Penn Quakers who open their 2025 season this weekend.
Friday, February 21 – 5 p.m. ET
Watch: ACC Network Extra Listen: WFLA 100.7 FM | FSU Gameday App
FSU Jr. LHP Jamie Arnold (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 8 K’s) vs. So. RHP Josh Katz (2024: 2-4, 7.41 ERA, 40 K’s)
Saturday, February 22 – 2 p.m. ET
Watch: ACC Network Extra Listen: WTLY 96.5 | FSU Gameday App
FSU r-Jr. LHP Joey Volini (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 K’s) vs. So. LHP Marty Coyne (2024: 1-0, 7.71 ERA, 32 K’s)
Sunday, February 23 – 1 p.m. ET
Watch: ACC Network Extra Listen: WFLA 100.7 FM | FSU Gameday App
FSU So. LHP Wes Mendes (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 8 K’s) vs. Sr. LHP Will Tobin (2024: 2-4, 4.81 ERA, 29K’s)
This weekend the Florida State Seminoles (4-0, 0-0 ACC) face off against the Pennsylvania Quakers (0-0, 0-0 IVY). The Quakers are led by Head Baseball Coach John Yurkow. During his eleven seasons as the Quakers skipper, Yurkow’s teams have established themselves as one of the conference’s premier programs, blending a mix of experienced leadership, rising talent, and a winning culture that has fueled their recent dominance. During Coach Yurkow’s time at Penn, he holds a 227-188-1 (.545) record, which includes a 117-67-1 mark in Ivy League play. Yurkow has been a coach who has a strong history of developing impact players with 69 All-Ivy selections including three Players of the Year, three Pitchers of the Year, three Rookies of the Year, 31 first-team selections, 19 second-team honorees, and 19 honorable mentions. On top of the All-Ivy selections, Yurkow has great experience preparing his athletes to compete at the next level, with 11 players selected in the MLB Draft since his promotion in 2013.
Last year, the Quakers were decent but not great offensively, with a team batting average of .288, while posting a .454 slugging percentage, and hitting 55 home runs. The good thing for the Quakers is that they return most of the starting lineup from 2024. The bad thing for the Quakers is they lose the majority of their production from 2024. Gone from this team is third baseman Wyatt Henseler who was a third-team All-America selection in 2024, and the Ivy League Player of the Year. In 2024, Henseler was the Quakers’ most dangerous bat in the lineup, as he led the team in batting average (.360), runs (64), hits (72), RBIs (56), slugging percentage (.755), and accounted for 40 percent of their home runs with a team-leading 22.
The Quakers will be led by a few veteran players that we need to know about including senior second basemen Connor Chavez, senior shortstop Davis Baker, and junior third baseman Jarrett Pokrovsky. The Quakers return their third-best bat from 2024 in shortstop Davis Baker, a two-time All-Ivy selection and has turned into one of the Ivy’s most prolific hitters, batting a career average of .318 with 129 hits, 11 homers, 77 RBIs, and has reached base at a .394 clip. Davis isn’t just a threat in the box, but also on the basepath with 21 stolen bases. His four triples led Ivy League hitters in 2024 and finished in the top 10 in hits (68), doubles (15), stolen bases (14), and total bases (115). Baker enters the 2025 campaign on a 16-game hitting streak.
Davis Baker is not the only threat the Noles pitchers will face as the Quakers also return senior second baseman and leadoff man Conner Chavez. Last season Chavez batted in the leadoff spot and made quite an impact for Penn after arriving in University City following two seasons at Northeast Texas Community College. Chavez in 2024 started all 46 games appearing at second base. Offensively he is a dangerous leadoff batter leading the Quakers in walks (33), while finishing second in runs (43), third in on-base percentage (.420), sixth in batting average (.281), fourth in doubles (10), and belted three home runs while also driving in 16 RBI last season.
No one on the Quakers team has faced pitching of this caliber as they are about to encounter a staff that ranks third in earned run average (ERA) at 0.77. This pitching group is also ranked twenty-second in strikeouts, with a total of 49, averaging 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Additionally, they are eighteenth in walks allowed, having given up 18, and they allow only 4.98 hits per nine innings, placing them fifteenth in hits allowed with a total of 19.
Unfortunately for the Quakers, most of these impressive statistics come from the relievers. Florida State has three of the best left-handed pitchers in college baseball this season: Jamie Arnold, Joey Volini, and Wes Mendez. Together, Arnold, Volini, and Mendez have an astounding combined ERA of zero, having allowed just one run on five hits over 15.2 innings of work while striking out 24 batters.
The Quakers will focus on a youth movement on the mound this season, starting with sophomore right-handed pitcher Josh Katz on Friday, sophomore left-handed pitcher Marty Coyne on Saturday, and senior left-handed pitcher Will Tobin on Sunday. Last season, this trio primarily worked out of the bullpen, appearing in a combined 48 games. They collectively posted a 6.64 ERA, allowing 78 runs while striking out 101 batters.
During the first two games, expect Josh Katz on Friday and Marty Coyne on Saturday to challenge the FSU hitters with their diverse pitching styles. Last season, Katz and Coyne both appeared in 26 games, making a total of 12 starts. In those 26 outings, they allowed 81 hits, 60 runs, and achieved a combined ERA of 7.56. However, a notable statistic is that in their 65.2 innings pitched, they struck out 72 batters while only walking 37.
As for Sunday, Will Tobin will be the pitcher to watch and is the veteran of the staff. In the 2024 season, Tobin emerged as one of the most reliable relievers for the Quakers. He appeared in a team-high 22 games, making four starts. Over his 22 appearances, he recorded a 4.81 ERA in 33.2 innings, allowing only 18 earned runs on 28 hits. He struck out 29 batters and limited opponents to a .238 batting average.
There is an old saying “Never bring a knife to a gunfight”. Well, that is exactly what the Quakers are doing this weekend as they are heading into the war zone of Dick Howser carrying super soakers against highly trained snipers. So, Seminole fans should bring a broom on Sunday, as I predict that the Seminoles will sweep their first-ever matchup against the Pennsylvania Quakers this weekend.0 I expect this to get ugly and ugly early especially with Coach Jarrett increasing the starting pitchers’ pitch counts.
But, if the game on Saturday gets out of hand and you feel the need to leave early, consider heading over to Joann Graf Field as there will be a top-10 doubleheader, with the number 8 Florida State Softball team facing off against the number 6 Texas A&M Aggies at 3:30 PM and 5:30 PM. Go Noles!
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