After a light practice Wednesday morning, the Florida State baseball team got ready to hit the road for Auburn, Ala., where it will take part in a record -tying 44th straight NCAA regional tournament.
FSU will take on the UCLA Bruins on Friday at noon (ESPN2), with the host Tigers taking on Southeast Louisiana after the conclusion of the first game.
“It’s awesome, it’s awesome for the guys," FSU coach Mike Martin Jr. said Wednesday afternoon. "It’s awesome for our coaching staff. Its good for the program.
"You have to treat everything the same. What you don’t want to do is act like somebody else. You want to stay consistent, our routines and everything that we’ve done.”
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Along with the physical aspect, the NCAA postseason can also present a mental challenge. And Martin, whose team is 33-23 entering the postseason, said he has warned the Seminoles to not get too "amped up."
“That’s what I told the guys: I said, ‘The teams that win this time of the year are the ones that keep their emotions in check and can think. You have to be able to think,’” Martin said. “You can’t get so amped up that you play totally different than you did during the regular season.”
During his session with the media Wednesday, Martin also revealed his pitching plans for the first two outings.
The ’Noles will be throwing ace Parker Messick in the first game of the regional. FSU is likely going with Bryce Hubbart as the next man up in game two. Messick stands with a record of 6-5 and 140 strikeouts in 15 starts, while Hubbart is 8-2 with 94 strikeouts in 14 starts.
“It’s a Friday game," Martin said of the decision to go with Messick in the opener. "Friday night, Friday during the day, whatever. He wants to be that guy. He’s always wanted to pitch on Fridays. Again, we like both of them. We feel like they’re 1A and 1B, but we just felt like Park was the best option. Excited to watch him throw.”
UCLA, meanwhile, finished 38-22 and 19-11 in the Pac-12. The Bruins then went on a wild run in the conference tournament, ending in the semifinals.
Martin called UCLA a talented team that is well-coached under 18-year head coach John Savage.
“It’s hard to pitch them inside, because of what they’ll do. They’ll hang in there and take the hit-by-pitches. They know the strike zone,” Martin said. “That’s a very high on-base percentage.
“They can beat you in a lot of ways. Whether it’s the arms they run out at you, or they can steal bags. And they play great defense. That’s why they’ve had an outstanding year.”
On an injury note for the ’Noles, infielder Jackson Greene, who has batted .221 with 4 homers in 29 starts at second and third base, is unavailable this weekend after suffering an injury in the series win over Miami three weeks ago.
For the players who are participating, Martin said a key will be getting familiar quickly with Auburn’s Plainsman Park.
“The pitchers get to stay on the mound, look at the backdrop. The hitters obviously take BP and see what the backdrop is like,” Martin said. “You go around the outfield and the ball hits here, this is what it's going to do. Pop-ups, how much foul ground you’ve got. We’ll go through all that.”
While Martin is focused on the Bruins and hasn’t spent a lot of time thinking about the Seminoles' 44 consecutive NCAA appearances, he did reflect some Wednesday on all the many accomplishments of his father, former FSU coach Mike Martin Sr.
“He did all that. What he accomplished was unbelievable. We just, again, there’s so much work that goes into it,” Martin said of preparing to play in a regional. “You've gotta, Boom! As soon as you know who’s coming, getting the scouting reports, looking at Synergy (analytics), game tape. And trying to get your guys ready at the same time.”
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