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On Monday, the NCAA announced the 64 collegiate baseball teams to earn the honor to be a part of the Division I national tournament, which will begin Friday at noon when the Missouri Tigers take on the Ole Miss Rebels. In preview of the regional tournaments that will be held this weekend, throughout the week we will examine each individual regional:

Tallahassee Regional

1. Florida State Seminoles (48-10) vs 4. Bucknell Bison (29-22)
2. Florida Gators (34-22) vs 3. Tulane Green Wave (37-20)

**Winner to take on champion of Stillwater Regional.**

The Florida State Seminoles earned the #4 overall national seed and the opportunity to host a regional thanks to their 48-10 record, the most wins in the nation this season. The Seminoles only lost 3 games out of conference this season and in conference, won the ACC’s Atlantic Division.

Florida State has an offensive juggernaut led by Academic All-American of the Year and Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year Buster Posey (19 HR, 73 RBI). Posey led the nation in batting average (.467), on base percentage(.567), and slugging percentage (.864) and combined with Jack Rye (.404, 6 HR, 44 RBI) and Dennis Guinn (.319, 16 HR, 64 RBI) in the middle of the lineup helped the Seminoles score 9.4 runs per game while hitting .350 as a team.

The Seminoles also have a pair of solid starters at the front of the rotation in Matt Fairel (10-2, 3.32 ERA) and Elia Villanueva (6-2, 3.23 ERA) that should make them tough in the regionals and beyond. Then, there also is Buster Posey the reliever, who did not allow a run in 8 appearances including being 6-for-6 in save opportunities.

Facing the Seminoles is Bucknell, who finished 4th in the Patriot League during the regular season with a 10-10 record but won the conference tournament with a pair of wins over Army and a pair over Navy. The Bison come in hot having won six consecutive including sweeping Columbia, another tournament squad, last weekend. Their competitiveness will greatly depend on the play of two-way stud Jason Buursma, who is the team’s leading hitter (.372, 12 HR, 35 RBI) and pitcher (9-3, 2.72 ERA with a 7.5 strikeout to walk ratio and 6 complete games).

Don’t expect the Bison to put up to much of a contest. FSU should dominate because past Buursma, Bucknell only has one significant pitcher with an ERA below 4.00, and that’s Dylan Seeley and his barely under, 3.99 ERA.

Friday’s nightcap features two ball clubs that were prominently ranked in recent years, but Florida and Tulane do not feature Matt LaPorta or Micah Owings this season. However, Florida does have a strong-hitting first baseman in Brandon McArthur (.343, 43 RBI), and Tulane does have another solid utility 3B/P in Rob Segedin (.333, 6 HR, 56 RBI, 4 SV, 21 K with only 4 BB in 18.1 innings of relief).

While both show some of the skills of the former stars, neither McArthur or Segedin is the star of their team. For Florida, offensive stars sophomore shortstop Cole Figuroa (.350, 9 HR, 57 RBI, 19 SB) and leadoff Avery Barnes (.372, 65 R, 26 SB) use speed as a weapon while Stephen Locke (5-2, 3.07 ERA) is the ace of the pitching staff. Locke draws the unenviable task of facing Tulane’s All-American right hander Shooter Hunt.

Hunt (9-3, 2.45 ERA) held opposing hitters to a minuscule .156 batting average (only 49 hits in 91.2 IP) and struck out 119 batters, the 4th highest total in the nation. One of the most dominant starters in college baseball this season, Hunt could very well hear his name called in the early moments of the MLB Draft next weekend as he is projected to go in the first round, possibly as high as a Top 10 selection.

I can’t go against a guy named Shooter, so with the help of Anthony Scelfo’s (.324, 10 HR, 51 RBI) offensive support, I see the Green Wave getting by the Gators, which will come as a relief to the Seminoles. Despite taking two of three this season, FSU is 2-10 all-time in the NCAA tournament against rival Florida.

Tulane has solid starting pitching behind Hunt, particularly sophomore Matt Petition (6-1, 2.81 ERA), but Florida State’s offense may be the best in all of college baseball. Should be an intriguing matchup, but I see the Seminoles heading to the super regional thanks to a true home field advantage at Dick Howser Stadium.

Shotgun Spratling

Also, check out our other regional previews: Ann Arbor, Athens, Baton Rouge, Cary, College Station, Conway, Coral Gables, Fullerton, Houston, Lincoln, Long Beach, Palo Alto, Raleigh, Stillwater, Tempe

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