Florida State baseball will look to build on its momentum from the opening weekend into the second weekend.

This time the Seminoles (3-0) are hoping for a full three-game series when they host Western Carolina, starting with a 5 p.m. first pitch to open the series Friday at Dick Howser Stadium.

FSU swept Butler in a brief two-game series on Opening Weekend, with Saturday's contest rained out.

The Seminoles used a three-run ninth inning to pull off a road victory over Jacksonville on Tuesday. Following the series against WCU, FSU will remain at home for a Tuesday contest against South Florida.

The Catamounts are 3-1 following a weekend sweep of Iona but are coming off a 16-9 loss to USC Upstate on Wednesday.

Here are three things to watch for this weekend.

Offensive surge through 3 games

FSU's offense is off to a hot start to begin the season. The Seminoles scored 26 runs to open the season against Butler and scored seven more against Jacksonville.

With a .370 batting average, the Seminoles sit 14th in college baseball heading into Wednesday's action. FSU is tied for 26th in the nation with 11 runs per game and second in college baseball with 15 stolen bases through three games. FSU has not been caught stealing, yet.

Nine of FSU's 40 hits this season have gone for extra bases, including four home runs.

DeAmez Ross and Drew Faurot have three stolen bases to lead the Seminoles.

Cam Smith and Jaime Ferrer are tied for the team lead with a .500 average. Smith has shown an improved ability to get on base, drawing two walks and a hit by pitch in 15 plate appearances.

Just as was the case last season as freshmen, Ross and Smith are batting 1-2 for the Seminoles.

They work so hard at this they're engaged in everything that we do," Link said of the 1-2 punch. "They're just great kids and to have them one-two in the order is pretty cool. They kind of get this thing going and lead it off and they're totally different. Like they're totally different offensive-type players."

Starting pitching excelling; Who is available this weekend?

Cam Leiter set the tone for the FSU pitching staff with a 13-strikeout performance on Opening Night on Friday. He earned ACC Pitcher of the Week honors for his performance, which spanned five shutout innings.

Jamie Arnold followed him up with a nine-strikeout performance in his five shutout innings. Cam Whittaker pitched the longest of the FSU starters, lasting 5 ⅓ innings against Jacksonville, he struck out six and walked two. All three of his runs allowed (two earned) came in his sixth inning of work.

Through three games, FSU starters have combined for 15 ⅓ innings, allowing just two earned runs on six hits to go along with 28 strikeouts and four walks.

While Leiter and Arnold are expected to be the weekend starters again, it will be interesting to see who head coach Link Jarrett goes to in the third game with Whittaker starting Tuesday after the weekend rainout.

Reliever Carson Dorsey has already thrown 5 ⅔ innings out of the bullpen, including picking up the victory over Jacksonville on Tuesday. He has struck out 14 and walked two, allowing one earned run on four hits.

Neither Dorsey nor Whittaker will be available this weekend. Gavin Adams is also unavailable this weekend, as he's getting treatment, per Jarrett. Left-handed reliever Andrew Armstrong was scheduled to throw a bullpen session Thursday. If all goes well, he could be available out of the bullpen Sunday.

"Pleased with how things have started," Jarrett said in a Zoom video call Thursday. "I liked the starting pitching, Leiter was clearly in command of what he was doing. I thought Jamie pitched well. Dorsey both times out has been impressive. Both of his secondary pitches were in play and the fastball was good."

Link added Florida transfer Yoel Tejada and sophomore Ben Barrett are two candidates to start Sunday. Both pitchers have been stretched out.

"We're going to let the first two games play out and then see," Jarrett said of the weekend rotation beyond Leiter and Arnold.

Scouting Western Carolina baseball

While the FSU pitching staff did not seem to be tested against Butler last weekend, Western Carolina could be another test.

The Catamounts are 35th in the nation with a .340 batting average and have scored 41 runs through four games, which is tied for 32nd. They also are tied at 43rd with seven home runs.

Nate Stocum has already hit three home runs for WCU, driving in eight runs and has walked three times. Four other Catamounts each have hit a home run, including Trent Turner, who has also added two doubles.

Landon Mowery leads the team with a .556 batting average, including five hits, four runs scored and three walks in 12 plate appearances.

"They've got some guys that can do damage. So we have to try to minimize and play clean and hopefully our starting pitchers can again navigate and get us into the game," Jarrett said of WCU's batting lineup.

"[The starting pitchers] did a nice job of that the first weekend. But with an experienced offensive team, it really becomes even more important that those starters lengthen out their outings."

On the mound, Cannon Pickell earned the opening night start for the Catamounts and struggled, allowing four runs on four hits in 2 ⅔ innings. He walked seven and struck out one.

Spenser Hamblem struck out six and walked two while allowing one earned run in five innings in the second game for WCU.

How to watch Florida State baseball vs. Western Carolina & Pitching Matchups

Where: Dick Howser Stadium

Friday; 5:00 p.m. – ACC Network Extra/100.7 FMFSU: RHP Cam Leiter (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. WCU: RHP Spenser Hamblen (1-0, 1.80 ERA)

Saturday; 2:00 p.m. – ACC Network Extra/100.7 FMFSU: LHP Jamie Arnold (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. WCU: LHP Kyle Riesselmann (0-0, 7.20 ERA)Watch | Listen

Sunday; 1:00 p.m. – ACC Network Extra/100.7 FMFSU: TBD vs. WCU: RHP Cannon Pickell (0-0, 13.50 ERA)

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports), Instagram (tlhnolesports) and YouTube channel (NoleSportsTD).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Cam Leiter, Cam Smith lead FSU baseball in series against WCU