They might be seen as surprising long shots now, but that's not really the makeup of this 2019 Florida State baseball team.
Long before they were one of the "last four in" and an underdog sent on the road to a pair of Southeastern Conference powers for the NCAA regional and super regional rounds, the Seminoles actually were considered one of the nation's most talented squads.
Baseball America had FSU ranked No. 6 in its preseason poll. Collegiate Baseball had Mike Martin's club at No. 10, while the two other major polls -- D1Baseball and the USAToday's coaches' poll -- had the 'Noles just outside the top 10. Then when the Seminoles opened the year with a 12-0 start, they moved up higher in every ranking and even ascended to the No. 1 spot in one.
Of course, all of that hype went straight out the window over the next three months as FSU staggered and stumbled its way through the rest of the regular season. After that hot start, the 'Noles won just 23 of their next 43 games heading into the ACC tournament.
So it's understandable why not much was expected of Florida State entering the postseason. But it's also understandable why the Seminoles' coaches and players knew they had the ability to compete with anyone in the country ... and why they didn't particularly appreciate being a total afterthought among many fans and media.
"I think that's been our mentality the whole way," junior third baseman Drew Mendoza said. "We've been doubted for most of the season, and it's really fired us up. And I think that mentality isn't going to change -- no matter what the media says, no matter what the people in Omaha would say. We're gonna keep that mentality, the underdog mentality, and keep it with us the whole way."
It has certainly served the Seminoles well so far.
In sweeping their way through the Athens, Ga., Regional, they defeated No. 4 national seed Georgia twice by a combined margin of 22-4. Then in the Baton Rouge, La., Super Regional last weekend, they took two straight from an LSU team that was ranked No. 1 in the country in preseason polls.
