Florida State responded with a series win at Virginia. But the Seminoles still can’t solve Florida.
Hayden Yost and Cole Stanford had solo home runs as No. 21 Florida defeated No. 5 FSU 4-3 on Tuesday to sweep the season series.
It was the first time since 2023 that Florida swept the series, while the Seminoles swept the Gators in 2024.
Hunter Carns smacked a no-doubt, two-run homer in the eighth for FSU (24-8) that soared 382 feet toward the scoreboard in left-center field. Carns went 2 for 4 and is now hitting .359 on the season.
Brayden Dowd went 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the third.
FSU had eight hits. But with the exception of Carns’ home run, all of them were singles.
The Seminoles had a chance to tack on more runs in the eighth after Carns’ home run. Kelvyn Paulino Jr. had an infield single and was replaced by pinch runner Gabe Fraser, who grabbed second on a wild pitch. After Eli Putnam walked, Florida reliever Joshua Whritenour recorded a pair of strikeouts — including strike three on Stuetzer at 99 mph.
Whritenour had four strikeouts in 1.2 innings to shut the door on the Seminoles, who struck out 11 times. FSU struck out 45 times in the three-game midweek series vs. UF.
Stuetzer did score for FSU in the third. He reached on a hit by pitch, swiped second base, advanced to third on Williams’ bunt single and scored on Dowd’s two-out single.
Left-hander Cooper Whited delivered a short, but effective start although he allowed a pair of home runs in 4.1 innings. He had two strikeouts and no walks, tossing 69 pitches (44 strikes).Gabe Nard relieved and was wild. He tossed a pair of wild pitches and issued two walks as he allowed two runs in .2 innings.
Cole Stokes (1.2 innings), Brodie Purcell (1.1 innings) and Jake Echols (1 inning) each had scoreless relief appearances.
The Marching Chiefs played from the right-field bleachers and gave the third game of the series with Florida an enjoyable atmosphere, even playing as Seminoles fans walked to the exits after the final out.
Up next
FSU plays at No. 3 Georgia Tech on Thursday at 7 p.m. (ACC Network) to start a three-game series between the ACC’s highest-ranked teams.
