Florida State rallied from six runs down to force extra innings against Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday, but the Eagles scored three runs in the 10th to take the victory, 11-8.
FSU shortstop Taylor Walls forced extras with a 2-run blast — his second of the day — with two outs in the ninth inning. FGCU went ahead for good with a sacrifice fly in the 10th before Tyler Selesky added some insurance with a 2-run homer.
The Good: Despite being on the short end of the scoreboard against an inferior opponent, Florida State showed quite a bit of resiliency in battling back on Wednesday. The Seminoles trailed by as many as six and by four runs in the eighth inning. The FGCU bats got off to a hot start with five runs in the first and never really cooled off. Five of the 12 Eagle hits went for extra bases.
The Bad: It was an all around disappointing day for Florida State defensively and on the mound. Each of the three FSU pitchers to work gave up at least two runs and third baseman John Sansone committed a pair of first inning errors which allowed three unearned runs for the Eagles.
The Ugly: The usually sound Florida State bullpen had a day to forget. Alec Byrd, who entered the day with an ERA under two, allowed two runs in three innings of work. Tyler Warmoth continued to be shaky at the back end of the pen. In two innings of work, Warmoth gave up three runs to take the loss.
Studs of the Game: Infielder Jake Noll absolutely tore up Noles pitching on Wednesday. Noll was 4-for-4 with two homers, three RBIs and four runs scored. Selesky also homered for the Eagles. Taylor Walls homered twice for FSU, finishing the day with three runs scored and four RBIs. Dylan Busby left the yard for the Seminoles while Matt Henderson was 2-for-2 with three runs.
Duds of the Game: Warmoth definitely makes this list, but so do FSU’s John Sansone and Cal Raleigh. In addition to two errors in the field, Sansone was 0-for-5 at the plate as was Raleigh. Steven Wells Jr. was 0-for-4 for FSU. FGCU pitcher Christian Townsend allowed FSU to tie the game by giving up three runs in 1 2/3 innings of work.
Phil Kelly/FSU athletics
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