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Live College Baseball on FCS - 14 Miami at 6 Florida State

Published Apr. 22, 2010 12:15 a.m. ET

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#14 Miami (Fl) travel to Tallahassee the last weekend of April to face their arch rivals Florida State. The Seminoles (28-9, 12-6) have only lost two series’ all year, falling to ACC foes Virginia and Virginia Tech at home earlier this season.

The Hurricanes (28-9, 14-4) have also lost two series’ in 2010. They lost two of three on the road at #20 Virginia Tech earlier this month, and dropped a home series to in-state rivals Florida back in early March.

Miami and Florida State will continue their rich history at Dick Howser Stadium, in what will be Miami’s second-to-last road series of the season. The ‘Canes have won seven of the last ten meetings between the schools, and the three-game set will be crucial in deciding the ACC’s regular season title. The Seminoles currently lead Clemson by two games in the ACC Atlantic division, while Miami trail red-hot Georgia Tech by a single game in the Coastal division.
The Hurricanes travel to Tallahassee after hitting 10 home runs in their last four games. Third baseman Harold Martinez leads the team with 12 home runs and has contributed 38 RBIs and 30 runs scored to the ‘Canes offense in 2010.

Junior catcher Yasmani Grandal has proven to be Miami’s most important player after a strong 2009 campaign. Grandal has been a fixture in the lineup, starting in all 37 games and batting for an impressive .429 average, 115 points higher than any other player in the ‘Canes lineup.

Florida State’s ace Sean Gilmartin will likely open the series Friday night, and the Seminoles will hope to improve on a recent underachieving stretch. The Seminoles had lost 5 of their last 13 before Wednesday, and head coach Mike Martin knows his team must show more consistency over the last month of the regular season.

Saturday’s probables are Miami’s Eric Erickson (4-1, 2.51 ERA) and Florida State’s Brian Busch (4-0, 2.55 ERA). Busch is pushing to earn just his second start of the season after starting well against Duke last Saturday.

Head coach Mike Martin will consider Busch for Saturday’s game, following his positive impact last weekend; "He pitched pretty good. I'm not saying that he had a dominant outing, but for five innings he pitched very good baseball."

Erickson, on the other hand, is much more likely feature for the ‘Canes after being steady for much of 2010. The lefthander has given up just 6 walks in 46 innings of work, and has held opposing batters to a .242 average.

This crucial ACC series begins on Friday Aril 24th, and you can catch game two LIVE on FCS Atlantic on Saturday. Tune in at 1:00pm EST to see which of these Florida powerhouses will take home bragging rights.

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