Link Jarrett isn't shying away from discussing the multiple hurdles presented by this final weekend on the road back to Omaha.
Jarrett knows his ninth-seeded Florida State baseball team will need to play at its best this weekend in a hostile atmosphere at No. 8 seed Oregon State if the Seminoles are going to advance to the College World Series for the second straight season.
"We're walking in to (face) an elite team. You look at every aspect of their team, they're very dynamic, they're physical, explosive pitch profile, stuff from the starters and some of the guys they use out of the bullpen. We're walking into a situation that is as good as it gets in terms of the level of competition that we're staring at in their home facility..." Jarrett said Thursday. "Going to be a great environment. They're still in school, if I heard correctly, so I'm sure this (stadium) will be rocking and rolling. Elite, tough, physical, high-profile players on the other side, so we've got to bring everything we have to have a chance here."
For a few days last weekend, it seemed FSU could be in position for a second straight home super regional after OSU lost its regional opener to St. Mary's. But the Beavers won four straight games when facing elimination, coming out of the loser's bracket and forcing the Seminoles to take a 2,800-mile cross-country trip to Corvallis to play the Beavers in their home stadium.
This is FSU's second cross-country trip is less than a month, after previously playing a conference series at Cal May 9 through 11. It sounds like this trip was a bit more convenient as it was a charter instead of a commercial flight, per the NCAA's postseason travel rules. But that still doesn't make this trip easy for the Seminoles.
"When you can jump on a charter, it's a little bit easier just to go five and a half hours and there you go..." Jarrett said. "Hopefully it goes a little bit better. Cal was tough, and there's no way around the distance and the difficulty of that, but it was easier by far with the charter. You're Tallahassee to here, and then about an hour from Eugene to Corvallis and here we are. I think we're a little bit more seasoned for it this go-around. Doesn't mean it's easy, but you at least lived it once."
FSU still hasn't set starting rotation
There's been conjecture all week about how FSU will arrange its pitching rotation this weekend with a trip to Omaha on the line.
It sounds like everyone will have to wait until the day of the game to find out. Jarrett said on a Zoom call with reporters Thursday that decision won't be made until they see how FSU's practice at Goss Stadium Thursday afternoon plays out.
"I know all three of our guys are going to be in good shape," Jarrett said. "We wanted to get through (Thursday) afternoon and let them do their work and make sure we were okay with how we viewed entering this thing."
Jarrett did say that he expects Joey Volini and Jamie Arnold to start the first two games of the super regional in some order. Volini threw just three innings in FSU's regional-opening win over Bethune-Cookman last Friday due to an extended weather delay which ended his outing after just 45 pitches over which he allowed two runs on five hits. Arnold struck out a season-high 13 batters on Saturday vs. Mississippi State, allowing three runs on five hits.
If they go Volini in Game 1, it would keep the starters on normal rest. Starting Arnold in the first game could be a bit risky as he threw 119 pitches six days prior and would be on one day less rest. However, the case can be made that FSU should throw its best arm in Game 1. That would be Arnold, without question.
The other question is does FSU hold Sunday starter Wes Mendes back for the third game no matter what or is there a possibility he's used out of the bullpen in one of the first two games if FSU has a chance to close out a sweep or is in danger of being swept. It sounds like that is also something that FSU is considering, especially because Jarrett said that Mendes bounces back a little faster after starts than the other two arms in FSU's rotation.
"Of the three guys that have started, how we would use those guys in terms of this thing may not get to the third game so you have to prepare with every option you have based on your personnel," Jarrett said. "Probably in this case, more our personnel and their preparation than maybe what Oregon State has coming to the table in terms of their hitters. Their hitters are really good so it doesn't really matter. We're gonna have to navigate a really tough lineup any way you slice it...
"This is an important hour and a half (of practice) that we have coming up. It'll either be Jamie or Joey, and I think either way you slice it, we're going to be okay. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but I think either of them would be fine. Wes probably bounces back better than the other two so how we would use him if needed? If you're in a position to try to get to game 3, you have to get the game 3. I know Wes and Jamie threw extensively, but Wes seems to bounce back, and if we had to manipulate to use him somehow, we probably would need to do it. We need to get through our little practice here...We'll see what happens in the next couple hours."
Jarrett knows his ninth-seeded Florida State baseball team will need to play at its best this weekend in a hostile atmosphere at No. 8 seed Oregon State if the Seminoles are going to advance to the College World Series for the second straight season.
"We're walking in to (face) an elite team. You look at every aspect of their team, they're very dynamic, they're physical, explosive pitch profile, stuff from the starters and some of the guys they use out of the bullpen. We're walking into a situation that is as good as it gets in terms of the level of competition that we're staring at in their home facility..." Jarrett said Thursday. "Going to be a great environment. They're still in school, if I heard correctly, so I'm sure this (stadium) will be rocking and rolling. Elite, tough, physical, high-profile players on the other side, so we've got to bring everything we have to have a chance here."
For a few days last weekend, it seemed FSU could be in position for a second straight home super regional after OSU lost its regional opener to St. Mary's. But the Beavers won four straight games when facing elimination, coming out of the loser's bracket and forcing the Seminoles to take a 2,800-mile cross-country trip to Corvallis to play the Beavers in their home stadium.
This is FSU's second cross-country trip is less than a month, after previously playing a conference series at Cal May 9 through 11. It sounds like this trip was a bit more convenient as it was a charter instead of a commercial flight, per the NCAA's postseason travel rules. But that still doesn't make this trip easy for the Seminoles.
"When you can jump on a charter, it's a little bit easier just to go five and a half hours and there you go..." Jarrett said. "Hopefully it goes a little bit better. Cal was tough, and there's no way around the distance and the difficulty of that, but it was easier by far with the charter. You're Tallahassee to here, and then about an hour from Eugene to Corvallis and here we are. I think we're a little bit more seasoned for it this go-around. Doesn't mean it's easy, but you at least lived it once."
FSU still hasn't set starting rotation
There's been conjecture all week about how FSU will arrange its pitching rotation this weekend with a trip to Omaha on the line.
It sounds like everyone will have to wait until the day of the game to find out. Jarrett said on a Zoom call with reporters Thursday that decision won't be made until they see how FSU's practice at Goss Stadium Thursday afternoon plays out.
"I know all three of our guys are going to be in good shape," Jarrett said. "We wanted to get through (Thursday) afternoon and let them do their work and make sure we were okay with how we viewed entering this thing."
Jarrett did say that he expects Joey Volini and Jamie Arnold to start the first two games of the super regional in some order. Volini threw just three innings in FSU's regional-opening win over Bethune-Cookman last Friday due to an extended weather delay which ended his outing after just 45 pitches over which he allowed two runs on five hits. Arnold struck out a season-high 13 batters on Saturday vs. Mississippi State, allowing three runs on five hits.
If they go Volini in Game 1, it would keep the starters on normal rest. Starting Arnold in the first game could be a bit risky as he threw 119 pitches six days prior and would be on one day less rest. However, the case can be made that FSU should throw its best arm in Game 1. That would be Arnold, without question.
The other question is does FSU hold Sunday starter Wes Mendes back for the third game no matter what or is there a possibility he's used out of the bullpen in one of the first two games if FSU has a chance to close out a sweep or is in danger of being swept. It sounds like that is also something that FSU is considering, especially because Jarrett said that Mendes bounces back a little faster after starts than the other two arms in FSU's rotation.
"Of the three guys that have started, how we would use those guys in terms of this thing may not get to the third game so you have to prepare with every option you have based on your personnel," Jarrett said. "Probably in this case, more our personnel and their preparation than maybe what Oregon State has coming to the table in terms of their hitters. Their hitters are really good so it doesn't really matter. We're gonna have to navigate a really tough lineup any way you slice it...
"This is an important hour and a half (of practice) that we have coming up. It'll either be Jamie or Joey, and I think either way you slice it, we're going to be okay. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but I think either of them would be fine. Wes probably bounces back better than the other two so how we would use him if needed? If you're in a position to try to get to game 3, you have to get the game 3. I know Wes and Jamie threw extensively, but Wes seems to bounce back, and if we had to manipulate to use him somehow, we probably would need to do it. We need to get through our little practice here...We'll see what happens in the next couple hours."
