I’ve been to a lot of post game press conferences over my past three years reporting on FSU athletics. Whether it be football, basketball, or baseball, I’ve seen multiple coaches experience defining wins and monumental losses: Jimbo Fisher, Leonard Hamilton, Sue Semrau, Mike Martin, etc.
I have never seen a coach look as defeated as Mike Martin did on Saturday night.
He had good reason to be. Florida State baseball has been on a skid lately, struggling to live up to preseason hype and defeat good teams.
For nine innings on Saturday, it looked like the Seminoles were finally going to get back on track. Against the No. 7 team in the country, the Seminoles were up 2-0 heading into the ninth inning. They proceeded to let North Carolina tie it up and win in extras by a 5-2 score.
Error after error punctuated a terrible fielding night for FSU — the same game where starting pitcher Tyler Holton went seven innings without giving up a single hit.
I’ve seen coaches get angry. Believe me, I was there for the Clemson press conference in late October when Fisher erupted at the officials. Even with Martin, I’ve seen him get angry after losses. He raises his distinct voice and punctuates what he’s saying.
Because I’ve also seen Martin contain himself when it comes to bad losses, Saturday night just seemed different. On Saturday night, something seemed to be hitting at Martin.
“This stuff, if you let it, can take it out of you,” he said.
Martin was asked about how his team moves forwards after a game like this. He repeated very true advice:
“You might say we need a win,” Martin said. “It’s the only way I can say it.”
This statement didn’t seem like regular Martin, however. It seemed almost…desperate. Martin was in the locker room for perhaps 20 minutes after the game, which is much longer than usual, even with similar losses. He knew how big this game would’ve been, giving Holton and Carlton fresh breaths of confidence against a great team.
While a win in the third game of the series was not guaranteed, it’s not easy to see how Florida State can capture the rubber match and prove that it still has top-tier ability. Instead, the Seminoles will now have to wait for another opportunity down the road. The season is halfway over.
You could also tell that he knew a question about Taylor Walls was coming. One of Florida State’s best players (perhaps its best) was pulled from shortstop to start the second inning.
In his absence, Matt Henderson and Tyler Daughtry took his place. They combined for four errors, including one that let a North Carolina runner get to third in the ninth. He would eventually score and help the Tar Heels tie it up.
In the 11th, a dropped throw by Daughtry at second allowed the go-ahead run to get into scoring position during what would be a 3-run frame for the Tar Heels.
It turns out that Walls has been suspended for two games. It was simply another piece of bad news on a bad night.
During the press conference, Martin told the story of how his wife reminds him about the chance he had to get to pro ball, many years prior. He said that it was hard to imagine because of how the scheduling operates, where losing five or six games in a row would be demoralizing. After Saturday’s game, everyone got a taste of that feeling.
The answers don’t seem to be all that clear for the team. FSU looked better than North Carolina for eight and a half innings. Going into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Seminoles had four errors compared to the Tar Heels’ zero, and they still looked like they were going to secure a win. Now they have one of their best players suspended and are about to play another top 15 team in Florida Gulf Coast.
“We are a team,” Martin said. “We’re going to fight through this. We don’t know what the future holds. We’re going to fight through it. We have a good baseball team.”
The team still truly can do that. They are a good baseball team who can defeat anyone in the nation, but they are running out of opportunities to do so. Martin seems acutely aware of that.
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