Florida State went from thinking no-no to saying “no, no, no”. Despite being one out from a combined no-hitter, FSU let a victory slip away against North Carolina, losing 5-2 in 11 innings after being up by two runs in the ninth at Dick Howser Stadium on Saturday.
The Good: Florida State pitching was phenomenal for 8 2/3 innings, with Tyler Holton and Drew Carlton giving up zero hits and one run in that timeframe. Even the ninth inning was not on Carlton. He only allowed one hit and walked one batter. A bad error by the shortstop was what helped UNC tie it up.
The Bad: The late game collapse from FSU was something to behold. It finally looked like the Seminoles were going to get a much-needed victory over a quality opponent. They were up 2-0 in the ninth. It turns out that North Carolina still had some kick in it. FSU proceeded to allow two runs in the top of the inning and let the Tar Heels tie the game up at 2-2. They then went to extra innings, where FSU gave up three more runs in the 11th to lose 5-2.
The Ugly: Fielding for the Seminoles proved difficult on Saturday night. A surprising defensive change was made early in the game when Taylor Walls got pulled from shortstop in favor of Matt Henderson, with Nick Derr coming in at second base. Unfortunately, the change didn’t seem to work. Henderson committed two errors and Derr committed one. The worst came from Tyler Daughtry in the ninth inning. He let a ball get past him into the center field, allowing Ashton McGee to get all the way to third base. McGee would come in for a score later in the inning. Florida State had a combined six errors on the game. All five North Carolina runs were unearned.
Studs of the Game: Tyler Holton was near flawless as the starting pitcher. He went for seven innings and gave up no hits, while striking out eight batters and only walking one. He did it in 109 pitches as well. For North Carolina, Brandon Riley scored the winning run.
Duds of the Game: This is a first, but it needs to be done: we’re putting the entire FSU shortstop position as a dud. Both Henderson and Daughtry committed two errors from the same position. Four errors on their own would be bad enough. Coming from the same spot on the field indicates a recurring issue.
Extra Innings: Everyone in the booth would be lying to you if we said we didn’t watch the Final Four while reporting.
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