The 2018 Florida State baseball team has accomplished the 4th best start in school history after two wins over Kansas this week. Only the 2007, 2013, and 1975 teams had longer season starting winning streaks. FSU will head to Winston-Salem, N.C. for the start of Atlantic Coast Conference play with a three game series against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Seminoles haven’t won a regular season series against the Deacs since 2015.

While the pitching has been stellar for the Noles in the early going, there is a sense that this team hasn’t yet hit its stride at the plate. Prior to the Kansas games, this lineup managed to post a very respectable 6.5 runs per game. But scratch and claw is probably an appropriate description of how this team managed to get there. Prior to the UNC Asheville series, FSU was slugging just .366, while hitting .264. A trademark of the Florida State lineup has been its ability to find ways to get on base, and this 2018 team appears to be no different. They currently lead the nation in drawing bases on balls and are 12th in on base percentage. The nine seasons prior to 2018, FSU finished no worse than 6th nationally in walks, and led the nation six times.

After the stretch of five games in five days, perhaps that stride is starting to hit at the plate. Following the win Tuesaday night against the Jayhawks, FSU finds itself averaging 7.2 runs per game. While a stretch of baseball like the Noles just finished can be tough on a pitching staff, it seems to have done some good for the team’s bats. FSU saw its team batting average rise from .264 to .283. Its on base percentage has risen from .427 to .437. The team’s slugging percentage popped up 23 points to .389, over that same stretch.

While certainly the opponents over the last five games can be a big factor in that jump, it isn’t something that can be accurately measured at present time. The start of conference play usually provides a better gauge of exactly what this team’s lineup will be capable of producing. But a deeper look suggests the last five games could be an indication of good things to come.

The two through five spots in the Seminole lineup contain proven producers. Jackson Lueck hit .341, while slugging .534 through the first 343 at bats of his college career. Rhett Aplin had a .958 OPS in his first year of Division I baseball. Cal Raleigh slugged .511 as a freshman before a dropoff last year, when he battled some nagging pains while starting all 69 games behind the plate. Drew Mendoza missed 26 games as a freshman, but still managed 10 homeruns, while making all-tournament teams at both the ACC Championships and the College World Series.

All have had struggles in the early going, though they have still found ways (scratched and clawed) to contribute. But the bats for all four started to show signs over the last five games. Raleigh and Mendoza plowed through UNC Asheville and Kansas pitching. Raleigh saw his average climb from .192 to .326 with a 10-20 five game run. Among his 10 hits, Raleigh had three doubles, a triple, and a homerun. Mendoza “only” managed one hit in the final game against the Jayhawks, but still ended the five game stretch 12-20 at the plate. Lueck and Aplin saw their numbers improve over the weekend, as well. Lueck saw an increase to his batting average of 37 points, while Aplin leads the team in drawing walks, and is near the top in on base percentage. Each of those four will depend on the other three to help them see good pitches in those spots in the lineup.

Florida State has gotten very good production out of two less proven players, so far in the early going. Steven Wells started 32 games in his career prior to 2018. But he has always been viewed as more of a defensive outfielder, than a producer at the plate. But at the end of 2017, his most concentrated string of starts also produced the best offensive numbers of his career. Wells started 8 of the final 13 games for the Seminoles in 2017. The Louisville matchup in the ACC Tournament was the first of that string of starts. Wells went 0-4 at the plate, which dropped his average to .136. He would go 8-29 over the final 12 games, and 7-24 (.292) in postseason. Wells is hitting .333 over the first 13 games of his senior season, with an on base percentage just shy of .600. J.C. Flowers spent the first 50 games of 2017 hovering in the .280 to .300 range before going just 7-57 over the final 18 games. He is also off to a very nice start, hitting .324 over the first 13 games. Both will be needed to produce in the 6-9 spots in the lineup.

The question marks as FSU heads to conference play will be who emerges in the leadoff spot, and who Mike Martin settles on at the designated hitter position. Mike Salvatore had some early success in getting on base in the leadoff spot. Cooper Swanson has also been used there over the last three games. Whether that spot eventually goes to one of those two, or someone else, remains to be seen. Each available position player has started at least one game, and 11 has used a total of seven players as a starter at DH. Swanson, again, has been the recent choice in that slot. But will he be the permanent solution there, or will it be someone else. Again, that is something unknown at this time. Conference play tends to bring more clarity to these situations.

So Florida State heads to conference play as one of only five undefeated teams in Division I baseball. The starting pitching has been very good, with bullpen arms showing support and an abundance of talent. The lineup has managed to score runs by any means necessary with the big bats starting to come to life. It should be a fun weekend in Winston-Salem as the Noles begin conference play in 2018.