FSU lefties dynamic duo through two weeks
Florida State’s Parker Messick won ACC pitcher and freshman of the year honors last season and he hasn’t slowed down so far this year.
Messick and Bryce Hubbart have formed the most effective 1-2 punch in the country through two weeks.
The redshirt sophomore left-handers have combined to strike out 46 batters and walk just three in 23 2/3 innings for the Seminoles (5-2). They’ve allowed one run and nine hits.
“They’re two different guys, Messick and Hubbart. That’s what makes it tough on people,” coach Mike Martin Jr. said. “They’re two totally different animals but cut from the same cloth of wanting to be the best they can possibly be.”
Messick turned in one of the top performances of the weekend, allowing one hit over seven innings in a 7-0 win over Samford on Friday. He walked none and struck out 13, his second straight outing with double-digit strikeouts and seventh of his career. He threw 85 pitches, 63 strikes.
“I was telling my coaches I don’t know if I’ve had a guy or seen a guy in college baseball as good as him,” Martin said. “He’ll gut things out when things aren’t going his way and when he doesn’t have his best stuff.”
Messick throws a mid90s fastball, curve, slider and changeup — and all of them were working against Samford. Martin said calling pitches is like playing a video game for pitching coach Jimmy Belanger.
“Whatever pitch you want to call, just throw something out there and he’s going to land it,” Martin said. “They’re all above-average pitches.”
Hubbart on Saturday allowed four hits, walked one and struck out nine in six innings in a 7-1 win.
IN THE POLLS
Texas (8-0) posted two shutouts while sweeping Alabama in Austin and remains the consensus No. 1 team in the polls.
D1Baseball.com ranks Mississippi (6-0) second and Arkansas (4-2) third. Collegiate Baseball newspaper has Stanford (6-1) No. 2 and LSU (7-1) No. 3. The Nos. 2 and 3 teams by Baseball America are Stanford and Notre Dame (5-1).
Stanford had last week’s most impressive set of wins. Playing in the Round Rock Classic in Texas, the Cardinal beat Louisiana-Lafayette 5-1, Indiana 13-0 and then-No. 2 Arkansas 5-0.
Cardinal pitchers came out of the weekend on a 24-inning shutout streak and have now recorded four shutouts in seven games — one off last year’s total in 56 games.