Quote:FSU's ACC fate still up in the air
By Steve Ellis
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Mike Martin has been preaching that his Florida State baseball team
controls its own destiny. Not quite.

When it comes to earning a No.2 seed in next week's ACC tournament, the
Seminoles will need some help even if they sweeps North Carolina State
this week. FSU, ranked 10th nationally, begins its three-game series
against North Carolina State today tied for third place with Clemson.
FSU and Clemson each boast 18-9 ACC records and trail Georgia Tech
(21-6) and Miami (19-7-1).

FSU and Clemson, which hosts Miami today through Saturday, have an
opportunity to leapfrog the Hurricanes. And both teams could tie Georgia
Tech (21-6) for first place if the Yellow Jackets are swept by North
Carolina. In a scenario in which Georgia Tech is swept and Miami loses
two games, FSU could earn the No.2 seed in the ACC tournament. Georgia
Tech swept FSU and would win the tiebreaker for the No.1 seed. FSU won
its series with Clemson, which would give the Seminoles the tiebreaker
for the No.2 seed. That's quite an opportunity for an FSU team that at
one point in the season lost six consecutive ACC games.

FSU is 6-6 on the road against league teams.

"This will be a great challenge," Martin said. "Playing in the ACC on
the road is very difficult."

This weekend's series is also important for FSU and the postseason. The
Seminoles have made a good case for hosting an NCAA regional with a
late-season charge of 11 consecutive wins.

"We have a very good chance of hosting a regional," FSU athletics
director Dave Hart said. "But we still have work to do."

A good showing against N.C. State would certainly help. FSU also needs
to avoid a two-and-out effort in the ACC tournament, which begins for
FSU on Wednesday.

"Everybody's fighting and everything is coming together," reliever Kevin
Lynch said. "We need to just keep that going. We've got a good ball club
we're playing in North Carolina State. We can't afford to stop doing
what we've been doing."