Colleges

FSU baseball

A look at the 2007 season.

By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published February 2, 2007

FSU baseball

2006: 44-21 (16-13 ACC); eliminated in regionals of NCAA Tournament

Coach: Mike Martin (1,435-493-4, 28th season)

Preseason rankings: No. 13 (Collegiate Baseball), No. 18 (Baseball America)

Key losses: Shane Robinson, CF; Ryne Malone, 3B; Tyler Chambliss, RHP

Key returners: Buster Posey, So., C/RHP (.346, 48 RBIs); Jack Rye, Jr., RF (.339, 12 HRs, 46 RBIs); Dennis Guinn, Jr., LF/1B (.335, 12 HRs, 69 RBIs); Tony Thomas, Jr., 2B (.289, 48 RBIs); Bryan Henry, Sr., RHP (9-4, 2.88 ERA); Michael Hyde, Sr., RHP (9-1, 4.34 ERA); Luke Tucker, Sr., RHP (2-1, nine saves, 1.06 ERA).

First series: Today-Sunday against Tennessee

Roster and schedule: seminoles.cstv.com/

Outlook: Martin, just inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, has a young team. Among the 35 players are 10 freshmen and 10 sophomores. But Martin has plenty of talent, which allowed him to shuffle the deck. Only Rye and Thomas (Bloomingdale High) play the same position as last season. The biggest change is Posey, who started every game at shortstop, moving to catcher. "Buster is a solid leader who really makes the other dugout think before they run," Martin said. "He's got exceptional arm strength and will be able to keep runners honest on base." Mark Hallberg, a transfer from Illinois-Chicago, takes over at shortstop. Last year, he hit .373 and struck out six times in 217 at-bats, best in the nation. Henry is the only FSU pitcher to be all-ACC first team in consecutive seasons, and Hyde has lost just once in his past 21 starts. Tucker figures to move into the rotation once he returns from a sore shoulder (by the end of February, Martin said).

[Last modified February 1, 2007, 22:29:50]