There was Bryson Moore’s short start. And two early Florida State errors. Pittsburgh held a two-run lead in the fourth when runner Brayden Dowd was out at second and the hitter, Brody DeLamielleure, was also ruled out as a result of Dowd’s interference.
Link Jarrett lost it and was quickly ejected when appealing the interference call, it’s likely he got heated because a similar call on Saturday had resulted in no interference call against an FSU runner.
That moment was a turning point, with Jarrett’s heated reaction sparking the Seminoles as they rallied for a 6-4 win over Pittsburgh to complete the sweep on Sunday.
“A big Sunday win. They’re all big this time of year,” FSU assistant coach Ty Megahee said. “But a Sunday win to come in and close out a series, sweep a series against a really good team that had come in as hot as anybody in the country, especially offensively the last couple weeks.”
Carter McCulley went 3 for 3 with a solo home run and a pair of doubles, lifting his average to .238. McCulley finished off an impressive weekend in which he went 5 for 13 (.384).
Chris Knier also shut the door on Pittsburgh with four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out two.
FSU (33-14, 15-9 ACC) had 14 hits, with six of them going for extra bases. Brayden Dowd also went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored, while Gabe Fraser went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. DeLamielleure had an RBI triple off the screen in right-center field.
The Seminoles stranded 11 runners, hitting just 6 of 22 (.273) with runners on base. But the rally was more than enough.
Moore pitched just 3.1 innings, allowing three hits and four walks with a hit batter and a wild pitch. He also committed an error.
After Moore’s early struggles, left-hander Payton Manca tossed 1.2 shutout innings. The left-hander was charged with an error on a pickoff attempt back to second, a ball that was low but could have been caught by shortstop Gabe Fraser before it skipped into center field.
Knier (3-0) settled down the Pittsburgh lineup, pitching the final four innings. For FSU, it was a much-needed calming end to a day with a shaky start and wild middle innings.
Megahee said he didn’t want to say too much about the call where Jarrett was ejected but did answer questions from reporters postgame.
“I think coach kind of fired the guys up a little bit,” Megahee said. “I don’t want to speak too much about the play. I don’t think we agreed with the call on the field or the call out of the review, obviously. But you could see a spark click. I don’t think we came out very crisp early in the game. Some of the defensive lapses were pretty uncharacteristic of what we’ve done the last little bit. Maybe it upped the intensity, upped the focus, the concentration level for the guys.”
The Seminoles won their sixth ACC series on Saturday, and they have swept Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. FSU has series remaining at Clemson next weekend (May 8-10) and against Miami (May 14-16) at Dick Howser Stadium.
Up next
FSU plays host to Jacksonville on Tuesday at 6 p.m. (ACC Network Extra).
Thanks for reading the Osceola. Subscribe now for 40 percent off to enjoy a full year of coverage of FSU athletics. You’ll also earn a $15 gift card at the Osceola’s merch store.
