Where does FSU baseball's pitching stand ahead of Tallahassee Regional final?

The No. 10-seeded Seminoles dragged themselves off the mat and rallied late to beat Northern Illinois 7-4, thanks in part to a three-run top of the 10th inning that was punctuated by a Ben Barrett two-run home run.

Barrett, who went 3-for-5 in the win and made a key sliding stop in the home half of the 10th inning to steal a hit, kept FSU's season alive and booked the Seminoles a date with St. John's in the Tallahassee Regional final.

Cooper Whited started and threw 76 pitches. Both Chris Knier, who threw 64 pitches and struck out five in the win, and Brodie Purcell (51 pitches, seven strikeouts) dazzled out of the bullpen. While the win extends the season, it leaves FSU with a pitching conundrum to solve.

And just over 12 hours to do it, with the Tallahassee Regional final against St. John's at noon on Monday, June 1.

"We were trying to steal some outs," head coach Link Jarrett said after the win over Northern Illinois. "We trust those guys. We tried to get Cooper a little further. We tried to get Knier a little further. Because we know what we are staring at tomorrow."

FSU's top three starters, lefties Wes Mendes and Trey Beard , and righty Bryson Moore have all pitched this weekend, and top bullpen arms have been leaned on to help push the team into the regional final.

Moore threw 88 pitches in five innings against St. John's on Friday and is unlikely to see the field again at Howser.

Due to the oddity of the Seminoles first losers bracket game against Coastal Carolina, a game that took 22 hours from first pitch to completion due to weather delays , both Mendes, 51 pitches and eight strikeouts, and Beard, 67 pitches and nine strikeouts, pitched in the same game.