Florida State held onto a top 10 seed and is set to host an NCAA Regional in Tallahassee for the third-straight year staring on Friday afternoon with a matchup against St. John’s at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium. However, a ninth-inning quarterfinal collapse against 14th-seeded Pitt in the ACC Championship robbed the Seminoles of a guaranteed opportunity to host a Super Regional as a top-eight seed, should they advance that far.
The three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning that gave the Panthers an 8-6 win also made them the lowest-seeded team in the ACC Championship to reach the semifinal. It was a brutal way for an FSU team that has battled injuries and a gauntlet of a schedule all season to bow out of the conference championship in Charlotte, and a sour note heading into the NCAA Tournament.
So, the question is, how do you flush that and prepare to host St. John’s on Friday? Head coach Link Jarrett shed some light on his philosophy in an appearance with the ACC Network on Wednesday night…