The No. 10 Florida State baseball team won both of its first two ACC series of the season and was looking to make it a third when the Seminoles welcomed Duke to Dick Howser Stadium on Saturday.
After winning the first game on Friday, what happened on Saturday will be a painful memory as star first baseman Myles Bailey appeared to suffer a major ankle injury sliding into second base.
The stretcher came out immediately as Duke players were frantically calling for medical personnel. Fans at Dick Howser Stadium were restless as they were aware of the severity of Bailey’s injury and what it means for the rest of the season. Bailey was taken off the field to an ambulance waiting beyond the left-field wall.
Moments later, a fan collapsed behind the first-base dugout and play was stopped for an extended period of time. The fan was eventually taken to the hospital for evaluation.
In a game that featured ups, downs, twists and turns, emotions were stressed to an extreme late in the game given what happened to Bailey and the fan. Coach Link Jarrett did not speak with the media postgame. An FSU spokesperson said a statement would be released later in the day.
The Seminoles grabbed the lead on a wild pitch in the eighth but the nightmares became a reality when Bailey slid into second base. Fans watched in stunned silence for a long time and you could hear a pin drop as Florida State's best player was taken out on a stretcher. Despite the injury, the Seminoles were clinging to a 12-11 lead heading into the top of the ninth inning and would hold on to get the victory.
FSU appears to be at a crossroads of its season with the best player potentially out at the midpoint of the 2026 season. The moment brought back memories of quarterback Jordan Travis’ injury in November 2023.
Everything that transpired in this game on the scoreboard took a backseat after Bailey and the fan went down.
On Saturday, the Seminoles rolled out junior Florida Atlantic transfer Trey Beard after an impressive outing against Wake Forest, where he struck out 14. Beard gave up a run in the first inning on a sacrifice fly.
FSU would help Beard out immediately in the bottom of the first inning, playing a little small ball to score four runs on four singles. Brayden Dowd, Eli Putnam, Hunter Carns and Chase Williams all drove in runs to give the Seminoles an early 4-1 lead. The lead wouldn’t last long as Beard continued to struggle and would give up three runs in the top of the second inning to tie the game at four. In the bottom of the second inning, freshman designated hitter Kelvyn Paulino Jr. drove in a run on a single to give Florida State a 5-4 lead.
The Seminoles' lead again would not last long as Beard gave up a two-run home run in the fourth inning to junior center fielder Michael DiMartini, who blasted a shot over the left-field wall to give the Blue Devils a 6-5 lead.
Beard would end the day with a season-high 101 pitches. His previous high was 96 last week vs. NC State, but against Duke he struggled. Beard pitched five complete innings, with five strikeouts, one walk, eight hits and six costly runs. Junior right handed pitcher Brodie Purcell relieved in the sixth inning and quickly gave up a run to extend Duke’s lead to 7-5.
Duke would enjoy the lead for a brief moment as FSU would add three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, highlighted by a big two-run home run from Bailey over the center-field wall to tie the game at seven. Dowd would sacrifice a run on a ground ball later in the inning to give the ’Noles the lead once again heading into the seventh.
The Seminoles would get some help from the Blue Devils as they could not find the strike zone and would walk three runs in for Florida State in the seventh to extend the lead to 11-7. One would think a lead like this would be comfortable but, the way this game was being played, no lead was safe.
Duke would tack on three runs in the eighth inning off Purcel, who was quickly pulled for junior Chris Knier. With the Seminoles leading only by one run and the bases loaded with two outs, Knier walked in a run and just like that, FSU and Duke were tied at 11.
Carter McCulley scored in the eighth on a Duke throwing error. McCulley went 3 for 5 with two doubles and two runs scored. He started at third base before shifting to second base late in the game.
Putnam took over at first base in the ninth for Bailey after his injury.
Senior Gabe Nard came in for the Seminoles to get the final two outs in the ninth to seal the win, but this win came at a cost.
As fans were leaving Howser, it felt like they had lost the game and potentially the season. Heads were down and faces were worried. Given everything that happened, Howser was in a state of mourning as fans await word on Bailey's injury.
Bailey went 2 for 3 with a two-run homer and four runs scored. He was intentionally walked a pair of times.
Up next
FSU (21-5, 7-1 ACC) and Duke (17-12, 4-7) wrap up the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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