What Florida State’s other two major men’s programs were able to do this academic year, the FSU baseball team was not on Tuesday night. That’s beat rival Florida in Gainesville.
The Seminoles got off to a hot start on Tuesday night, but couldn’t hold off the Florida bats in a 12-6 loss to the rival Gators. The loss for Florida State is the third straight after reeling off 14 wins to start the season and 11th against Florida in 12 tries. After four straight road games, the Seminoles return home to open a 3-game series with Notre Dame on Friday.
The Good: After just seven home runs in the first 16 games, Florida State found its power on Tuesday night with four home runs. In fact, seven of the eight FSU hits went for extra bases. Six of Florida’s 14 hits went for extra bases, including a pair of home runs.
The Bad: After a splendid start, the FSU pitching staff has now given up a season-high for runs in consecutive games. Florida State has allowed 20 runs over the last two games after giving up an average of just over three per game through the first 15 games. Andrew Karp, the FSU starter, took his first loss while the usually dependable bullpen was tagged for five runs in 4 2/3 innings of work.
The Ugly: The wheels fell off for Florida State in the bottom of the fifth. FSU took a 4-3 lead into the frame, before giving up seven runs on five hits. A groundout by Nick Horvath put the Gators ahead for good.
Studs of the Game: Nick Horvath and Austin Longworthy each had three hits for Florida on Tuesday night. Horvath scored twice and drove in two more while Longworthy had a run and an RBI. Third baseman Jonathan India was 2-for-2 with a pair of home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored in the win. Rhett Aplin homered twice and drove in three runs for Florida State in the loss. Cal Raleigh and Drew Mendoza also homered for the Seminoles. Mendoza was 3-for-4, falling a triple shy of the cycle.
Duds of the Game: The entire FSU pitching staff could be mentioned here, but Andrew Karp gets the dubious distinction for allowing seven runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. Jackson Lueck and J.C. Flowers were each 0-for-4 at the plate with a combined five strikeouts. Florida starting pitcher Jordan Butler wasn’t sharp either as he allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings of work.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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