When you think of the key offensive contributors on the Florida State baseball team players like Ryan Barthelemy, Tony McQuade and Stephen Drew come to mind. Designated hitter Blair McCaleb is not generally mentioned with this group but his recent contributions have made a huge difference in getting FSU out of its mid-season slump. Since being inserted as a starter the 'Noles have gone 7-1, including sweeps at Miami and at home against a top five Georgia Tech team.

As a starter over the past eight games McCaleb is batting .393 with 13 RBI and 11 runs scored. The senior from Marietta, Georgia also chipped in two home runs and four doubles during this two-week period. Not bad for a guy who batted .185 last season and had a total of five RBI.

"Blair has had some good at bats in the last ten ballgames," said FSU head Coach Mike Martin. "He's really been impressive."

Coach

Martin gave McCaleb a shot to start after he played well in a pinch-hit role in the home series against Miami. Once he got his foot in the door the six-foot, 205-pound designated hitter hasn't looked back.

"We went down to Miami and I got a couple starts and I did well and it just carried on," said McCaleb. "I know that 11 (Mike Martin) has confidence in me. When we played Miami here he put me in a couple key situations and that helped boost my confidence just to know that he put me in crucial situations and he had confidence in me to get the job done."

With four critical ACC series, and the conference tournament, on the docket for the next month McCaleb and his teammates must continue the explosiveness they have shown in recent games. With McCaleb in the lineup, along with several other dangerous hitters, the pitching staff might not have to be counted on to win every game as evidenced by FSU scoring in double digits in three of the last four games.

In addition to his improved, and clutch, hitting Mike Martin loves the fact that his designated hitter rarely strikes out. In fact, on the season McCaleb has fanned only 10 times in 101 at bats (9.9%). That is by far the best average on the team.

"I've been very pleased with the way he's approached hitting and he's a tough out," said Martin. "That's what you want in your lineup is a bunch of tough outs."

Not surprisingly McCaleb takes a lot of pride in the fact that he has been a "tough out" this season.

"I hate striking out," said McCaleb. "It's the worst thing in the world to me. I just try to put the ball in play. Good things can happen if you put the ball in play since not everybody is going to make a play. If we put the ball in play we will be getting hits and getting runs."

If the Tribe hopes to get back to college baseball's promised land in Omaha they will need more tough outs like Blair McCaleb.

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