Weekend Preview: Eagles Host No. 7 Florida State

THE FACTS
MATCHUP: No. 7 Florida State (18-6, 6-1 ACC) at Boston College (14-9, 3-6 ACC)
WHERE: Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
WHEN: Friday, April 1 at 2:30 p.m. | Saturday, April 2 at 1:30 p.m. | Sunday, April 3 at 1 p.m.
RECORD vs. FLORIDA STATE: FSU leads the all-time series, 28-4

THE MATCHUP
Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Mike King (4-1, 2.82 ERA) vs. RHP Mike Compton (3-1, 4.02 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Jesse Adams (2-3, 5.54 ERA) vs. RHP Drew Carlton (4-1, 3.49 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Jacob Stevens (2-0, 0.53 ERA) vs. RHP Cole Sands (3-2, 2.92 ERA)

Scouting the Seminoles

Seventh-ranked Florida State travels to The Heights after falling, 3-2, to No. 2 Florida in Jacksonville on Tuesday.
The Noles only played one game against No. 19 NC State in last weekend's ACC matchup as rain washed out most of the weekend. They won, 8-5, on Friday night. Starter Mike Compton gave up four runs on six hits through 3.1 innings but the Noles were able to get to Wolfpack early, scoring six in the first and adding two more in the seventh.
Last year, Compton pitched a complete-game shutout in FSU's 7-0 victory against the Eagles, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out seven.
The Noles are led at the plate by infielder John Sansone, who has a .385 batting average, 31 RBIs and is tied with infielder Taylor Walls for the team lead with 37 hits. His batting clip ranks seventh in the ACC while both players are tied for fourth in the league for hits.
Walls' 34 runs scored is first in the conference and his 11 doubles are tied at the top of the rankings.
Saturday starter Drew Carlton collected the win at Pittsburgh in the Seminoles' last full weekend series, throwing five innings and allowing four hits, two runs - one earned - and one walk with four Ks.
Sunday pitcher Cole Sands shouldered the loss when FSU lost, 5-2, to Pittsburgh in the series finale. He went 4.1 innings, allowed four hits, three runs - one earned - walked five and struck out two.

THE SERIES

The last time BC defeated FSU was in 2012, taking the final game of the series, 17-6, when Florida State came in as the No. 1 team in the country.
It was also the last time the two teams faced off at Pellagrini Diamond as the 2014 series was moved to Rhode Island's Bill Beck Field because of field conditions in Chestnut Hill.
The Seminoles has swept the last three series against the Eagles, including two in Tallahassee to open the Atlantic Coast Conference slate. They also won all three games in 2011.
Since BC joined the ACC in 2006, FSU has won 28 of the 32 meetings, including the first 10.
The Eagles earned their first victory in 2009, winning the final two games to take the series in Florida.

WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE EAGLES

Boston College entered the weekend at Pittsburgh with a 12-6 record, the best start since 2005, and was 2-4 in the ACC, the best league start since 2011, but dropped two of three to the Panthers and lost to UConn to tie the longest losing streak of the season at three games.
The Eagles got back on track with a victory at Massachusetts on Wednesday. They tied a season high with 16 hits and notched season highs with 27 total bases, 15 assists and four stolen bases. They also launched two homers for the fourth time this season.
Freshman RHP Jacob Stevens threw the first 29 innings of his career without giving up an earned run. He finally allowed one at No. 19 Clemson on March 20 and then did so again at Pittsburgh on March 26. In 34 career innings, he has allowed just two earned runs for an ACC-best 0.53 ERA. That ranks fifth in the NCAA while his 4.50 hits per nine innings is 16th.
In 15.2 innings of relief work this season, redshirt sophomore RHP Bobby Skogsbergh has allowed just three walks while striking out nine. In his 10 appearances, he has given up runs (three) twice. He pitched a career-high 3.2 innings against Connecticut on March 29, allowing three hits and one walk with two Ks. He did not give up a run.
Sophomore Jake Palomaki has recorded at least one hit in the 16 of the 23 games this season, bringing his two-year total to at least one hit in 48 of the 73 games played at BC. He is also on a six-game hit streak and 12-game on-base streak.
Junior Michael Strem has recorded at least one hit in 17 of the Eagles' 23 games this season and at least two hits in nine games. In the last three games, he is 7-for-12 with five RBIs.
Senior Joe Cronin reached base every time he stepped to the plate at UMass. He was 2-for-2 with a team season-high four walks and recorded his third triple of the season. His six career triples is tied for seventh in BC record books while his 94 career walks rank sixth and his 42 career doubles is tied for 10th.
In the two midweek games, senior Stephen Sauter drove in five runs on a double and a home run, walked once and stole a base. He also caught two stealing against UConn.

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Players Mentioned

Jesse Adams

Joe Cronin

Mike King

Jake Palomaki

Stephen Sauter

Bobby Skogsbergh

Jacob Stevens

Michael Strem