FSU Drops Series as Rally Falls Short to Virginia, 7-5

Florida State baseball fell short on Sunday afternoon, losing the third game of the Virginia series 7-5 after falling behind by six runs early. The Seminoles rallied to within two and put the tying run in scoring position in the seventh, but could get no closer.

The Good: Virginia’s fielding was oddly impressive. In addition to sustaining no errors and a perfect fielding percentage, the Cavaliers turned double plays three separate times. The Seminoles struggled to get runners on base the whole game, and when they finally did, Virginia squashed that momentum with great defense. All five of Florida State’s scores came on home runs.

The Bad: Florida State’s start to the game was once again abysmal. The Seminoles gave up four runs in the first inning and were forced to pull Andrew Karp before an out was even made. They gave up a total of six runs through the first three frames, once again successfully putting themselves in a hole that made their mid-game burst almost useless.

The Ugly: Late game batting became a struggle for both teams. After a productive and captivating six innings, both squads fell asleep at the plate. The final three innings saw a grand total of three hits and no runs. That also included seven strikeouts and six runners left on base.

Studs of the Game: Quincy Nieporte, Dylan Busby, and Drew Mendoza all smacked home runs for the Seminoles on Sunday. In fact, all three were the only sources of FSU offensive production in the contest. Drew Carlton pitched more than three innings for FSU and allowed only three hits and no earned runs. For the Cavaliers, Cameron Simmons had two hits, two runs, and an RBI at the plate.

Duds of the Game: Andrew Karp simply cannot find his groove for FSU. Karp gave up four hits and four earned runs in only 17 pitches without recording an out.

Extra Innings: There was a heated exchange between Dylan Busby and the Virginia dugout in the middle of the game after Busby struck out. It wasn’t clear who said what (it looked like pitcher Tommy Doyle said something in the replay) but there was a loud exclamation which seemed to provoke Busby. It was an odd moment in an otherwise peaceful game.