Man, what a stressful night Coach Jarrett and the “Cardiac Kids” had Wednesday, as they had to scratch and claw their way to a 9-6 win against the Jacksonville Dolphins. Now, the Seminoles must turn all their focus to this weekend as Coach Jarrett and the Seminole play host to the Georgetown Hoyas (3-5, 0-0 Big East) for the first time in each of these storied universities history. So, let’s dive into this weekend’s matchup and see if the Seminoles can stay perfect or will the Hoyas bite Renegade in the rear.
Friday, February 28 – 5 p.m. ET
Watch: ACC Network Extra Listen: WFLA 100.7 FM | FSU Gameday App |
FSU: LHP Jamie Arnold (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 16K’s) vs. GU: RHP JT Raab (1-0, 2.45 ERA, 10K’s)
Saturday, March 1 – 2 p.m. ET
Watch: ACC Network Extra Listen: WTLY 96.5 | FSU Gameday App |
FSU: LHP Joey Volini (2-0, 1.74 ERA, 13K’s) vs. GU: RHP Matthew Sapienza (0-2, 8.53 ERA, 8K’s)
Sunday, March 2 – 11 a.m. ET
Watch: ACC Network Extra Listen: WFLA 100.7 FM | FSU Gameday App |
FSU: LHP Wes Mendes (2-0, 1.93 ERA, 16K’s) vs. GU: LHP Andrew Williams (1-0, 5.40 ERA, 5K’s)
The Georgetown Hoyas are coming off a heartbreaking 8-7 midweek loss to the George Washington Revolutionaries on Tuesday night. In their mid-week game, the Hoyas would be held scoreless through five innings. Then in the sixth inning Georgetown was able to put runners on second and third after executing a double steal in the sixth. With two outs, Jaden Sheffield hit an RBI single through the right-side giving Georgetown its first lead of the day at 4-2.
In the seventh inning, Georgetown’s offense continued to thrive as the Hoyas loaded the bases with one out. They scored three more runs, giving them a 7-2 lead going into the bottom half of the eighth inning. However, in the eighth inning, Georgetown’s performance faltered. They allowed the Revolutionaries to score six runs, which gave George Washington an 8-7 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. In the final inning, George Washington brought in their closer, Declan Wywoda, to shut down the side and secure the victory. He achieved this by producing a fly out for the first batter, followed by striking out the final two batters to clinch the win for George Washington. With this loss, Georgetown’s record falls to 3-5 for the season, with defeats against Presbyterian (2), Sacred Heart (2), and George Washington. The Hoyas will come to Tallahassee on a three-game losing streak.
The Hoyas are led by Head Coach Edwin Thompson, who is entering his fifth season with the team. Under his leadership, the Georgetown program has achieved three consecutive 30-win seasons. This season, Georgetown returns 22 players from the 2024 squad that reached the BIG EAST Championship after setting a program record with 36 wins. Notably, the 2024 campaign marked the first time in program history that the Blue & Gray has achieved three consecutive 30-win seasons.
If Coach Hayes and the Hoyas think their time in Florida will be all fun in the sun, they are in for a rude awakening. This weekend, they will face one of the best defensive units in college baseball, along with three of the top pitchers in the country. The Hoyas’ offense has struggled significantly this season, ranking among the lowest in college baseball. Only two players in their lineup are batting above .300.
You might think I’m joking when I say this offense is struggling, but let the numbers speak for themselves. The Hoyas are entering Dick Howser Stadium having dropped three of their last four games, including a significant 21-4 loss to Sacred Heart. Georgetown’s offense ranks 145th in team batting average (.264), 92nd in runs scored and runs per game (58, averaging 7.25), 122nd in hits and hits per nine innings (70, averaging 8.25), 214th in home runs, 117th in slugging percentage (.351), and 117th in on-base percentage (.390).
Like every team, there are always players to be on the lookout for, and Georgetown does have two players offensively to watch out for. The first is junior third baseman #36 Jeremy Sheffield, who typically bats near the top of the order and occasionally occupies the leadoff spot. Sheffield was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll this past weekend after achieving a .438 batting average, driving in seven RBI on seven hits, including a triple, two walks, and two stolen bases. He currently leads the Hoyas in batting average (.400), hits (12), slugging percentage (.567), and ranks third on the team in on-base percentage (.514).
The other Georgetown player of concern is freshman right fielder #34 Dylan Larkins, who usually bats seventh in the lineup. Although he started seven games this season, he did not play in Georgetown’s mid-week loss to George Washington. Despite this, he is the only other Hoya batting above .300, with a second-best batting average of .381. When he reaches base, he poses a threat as he leads the team in stolen bases, having successfully swiped five bags out of six attempts. Dylan made a strong impression during Georgetown’s opening weekend against Presbyterian, earning BIG EAST honor roll honors after recording two multi-hit games. He reached base in all three games, posting an impressive stat line of .571/.667/.571 while scoring two runs and driving in four RBI.
The problem for the Hoyas offense is they will be facing a starting pitching staff that ranks first in team ERA (1.35), fifteenth in strikeouts (80), and seventh in hits allowed (37). When you break it down per nine innings is when it really shows how scary this pitching staff is. Combined, they average 5.55 hits per game allowed while striking out an average of twelve batters and only walk an average of two per game while giving up allowing only an average of 2.28 runs per game.
Georgetown may be wishing this series were held mid-week instead of on the weekend, as they face one of the best starting rotations in college baseball. The Seminoles’ rotation includes junior Jamie Arnold, redshirt junior Joey Volini, and sophomore Wes Mendez. Together, the trio boasts a perfect 6-0 record this season, with an impressive, combined ERA of 0.88. They’ve allowed only four runs (three earned) on 16 hits, while striking out 45 batters and issuing just four walks.
If this stellar pitching staff allows the ball to be put in play, Georgetown will also have to contend with team captain and shortstop Alex Lodis, who leads the Seminoles defensively with a perfect fielding percentage. The Seminoles’ defense has shown significant improvement under Head Coach Link Jarrett’s guidance in Tallahassee, ranking 22nd in fielding percentage at .984. They have committed only seven errors this season and have successfully turned six double plays.
For Georgetown to stay competitive in this matchup, the crucial question is whether they can stop the Seminoles’ offense. There’s both good news and bad news. The good news is that the Seminoles will have the opportunity to give many of their underclassmen plenty of playing time and plate appearances. However, if you thought their offense was bad, their defense and pitching staff are just downright awful.
The pitching staff is not a significant threat on the mound, as they rank near the bottom of all college programs. They are currently 181st in team ERA with an average of 6.49, 216th in hits allowed with 10.77 hits given up per game, 194th in walks with 44, and 195th in strikeouts with only 62. One issue for this team is that the Georgetown defense does not support the pitching staff well; they rank 149th in fielding percentage at .967 and have committed 10 errors this season. So, the question is what will the Seminoles see from the Georgetown starting pitchers?
On Friday night this is going to be the only decent matchup on the mound as Georgetown is starting graduate transfer RHP JT Raab. Raab who is a power righty with electric stuff, has a record of 1-0 with a 2.45ERA and leads the team with 10 strikeouts. Last season while part of the Stony Brook program Raab posted a 4.54 ERA in 71.1 innings of action. He posted a 4-4 record starting 11 games while making 15 appearances on the season and recorded 52 strikeouts to only 15 walks and held opponents to a .252 batting average.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Seminole bats should be loud and proud as they will face senior RHP Matthew Sapienza (Saturday) and Andrew Williams (Sunday). Saturday starter Sapienza has not had the season he was hoping for in his final year. Sapienza has not made it past the third inning in any of his outings this season and has an ERA of 8.53 with eight strikeouts while only walking two batters in 6.1 innings of work. Sapienza does have some stuff as he throws a three-pitch mix with a fastball in the mid 80’s and he can hit lower 90’s at times, he also throws a slider and change-up that hits mid 70’s to lower 80’s.
On Sunday Georgetown will throw senior left-hander Andrew Williams, Williams this season will take the mound with a 5.40ERA and only five innings of work. Williams will have a four-pitch mix of fastball, change-up, curveball, and slider, but it isn’t nothing this offense should worry about. Williams does have the ability to produce quality outings as in 2024 he made 16 appearances, starting 10 of them and posted a 2.91 ERA and recorded 49 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched.
I know everyone from other media outlets are saying, “This team has not played anyone yet”, and I know Coach Jarrett, when putting this schedule together, saw what all these programs did last season. He thought that these early matchups would benefit this program in the early part of the season before starting conference play. It is not his fault that these programs, who were coming off very productive seasons, have fallen off the same cliff our football program fell from, but these appearances will help this team. Once this team gets to the matchup against Florida on March 11th, we will see the benefits of these early games.
I want to challenge anyone who reads our previews and who will be at the game on Sunday to find a gold number eleven shirt and wear it. Because yes, this Georgetown team has the potential to defeat any opponent, as they have beaten top programs in the past and are coming off three consecutive 30-win seasons. However, while they might have the ability to win, I don’t believe they will. I expect this to be an easy series sweep for the Seminoles, improving them to 11-0, as the Hoyas will struggle to match up against them. Go Noles!
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