After the Florida State baseball team was swept at home this weekend by North Carolina, falling to 18-11 overall and 6-6 in the ACC, it's time for an installment of the 3-2-1: Where we offer 3 things we've learned, 2 questions we're asking and 1 prediction.
Three things we've learned
No. 1 -- It isn't the only problem, but FSU has been plagued by lack of continuity
This was supposed to be one of Florida State’s best teams in years, but an assortment of injuries and now a surprising midseason suspension have kept the Seminoles from being at full strength every step of the way.
Head coach Mike Martin insisted after Sunday’s loss that he wouldn’t use that as an excuse, and that's admirable. But there's no denying it has been a major factor on offense and defense.
The team’s best hitter, Jackson Lueck, missed several games with shin splints. One of the Seminoles’ best power hitters, junior Dylan Busby, has been sidelined recently by a shoulder injury. The team’s most celebrated newcomer, freshman third baseman Drew Mendoza, missed the first 26 games with a broken thumb. And All-America shortstop Taylor Walls missed most of Saturday’s game and all of Sunday’s due to a team suspension.
The good news for FSU -- at a time when there hasn’t been much lately -- is that Lueck and Mendoza are back in the lineup now and Walls will be back on Tuesday. Busby could be back any day as well. The first 29 games of this season have been extremely rocky, but there are 28 more games remaining in the regular season. That gives the Seminoles time to see how things might come together when they have their entire team available.
