TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Thirty-nine years in college baseball will give one plenty of stories to tell, and Mike Martin is living proof. Florida State’s baseball coach was able to look at the other three coaches in the upcoming Tallahassee Regional — Mississippi State’s Gary Henderson, Oklahoma’s Skip Johnson and Samford’s Casey Dunn — and immediately recall days from early in their coaching careers or, in the latter’s case, his playing days.

Martin also knows he has to shake those memories quick. He sees all three of those men as legitimate threats to end his season.

“This is a dog gone good regional,” Martin said. “How many coaches are impressed with every single team that’s in their regional? This is fun, this is the way it should be for all of our young men participating.”

Only one of them will advance to a Super Regional, and the process of finding out which one does begins 11 a.m. Friday (ESPNU) when MSU (31-25) faces Oklahoma (36-23), followed by the hosting Seminoles taking on Samford. The Tallahassee Regional is one of just three regionals where the host is entertaining two Power 5 conference teams, joined in that status by the Greensboro Regional and the Austin Regional. In the face of that adversity, Martin finds no point in complaining about his team’s path.

“Like everybody else, we’re just happy that we’re still playing,” Martin said. “I think you look at it as, ‘Let’s play baseball.'”

Small, Westburg active

Under usual circumstances, MSU announcing Konnor Pilkington and Ethan Small as its first two starting pitchers of the weekend, as it did Thursday, would be nothing new; it’s been that way all season. The only difference this time was it confirmed Small’s first start since he formed a blister on his pitching hand in his final start of the regular season.

“I don’t anticipate any problems,” Henderson said. “They have a life of their own, they come and they go; he had one, it’s gone and it hasn’t come back. His side session was outstanding, so I don’t anticipate anything.”

MSU could also see the return of freshman third baseman Jordan Westburg, who has spent the last two weeks recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in the Florida series. He was active in MSU’s practice Thursday, showing progress but not certainty of availability.

“That’s not full-blown sprinting as hard as you can from second to home or first to home or anything like that, but we do feel good about that,” Henderson said.

Sooners back in action

The status of two of Oklahoma’s best hitters has not changed, but their activities have.

Johnson, Oklahoma’s coach, told The Dispatch earlier in the week that starting outfielders Steele Walker (oblique) and Kyler Murray (hamstring) are day-to-day; Johnson reiterated such on Thursday, but added that Walker ran in the outfield in Thursday’s practice and Murray took some batting practice.

High praise for Wells

Teams visiting Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium are advised to be careful with any ball hit into right field. Steven Wells patrols the area with ease.

Wells’ career was that of a classic defensive specialist with a struggling bat, but he has come on to be an everyday fixture in Florida State’s lineup and one that has impressed Martin, to the point that he struggled to find a better defensive outfielder in his 39-year career.

“He’s a guy that could play any of the three outfield positions, did not hit well at all in his first three years, but it’s amazing how he made the change and he’s already having success,” Martin said. “You can see in our league, nobody runs on Steven.”

Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson