The Florida State baseball team began its regional weekend by immediately putting themselves behind the 8-ball when they lost their opening game to St. John’s 6-5 on a rain-soaked Friday night in Tallahassee.
The Seminoles were facing elimination the next day at 2 p.m. when they took on Coastal Carolina. The weather in Tallahassee did not cooperate and caused two significant rain delays that eventually led to the game being suspended.
FSU was clinging to a 2-1 lead at the end of the fifth inning before the game was called. Both teams picked up where they left off on Sunday morning to finish the game and the Seminoles were able to hang on for the 2-1 victory, eliminating the Chanticleers. FSU’s Trey Beard had a remarkable outing by striking out nine.
After handling the Chanticleers, the Seminoles would take on Northern Illinois on Sunday night for the right to play another day.
Ben Barrett made sure FSU would be playing meaningful baseball on Monday, the first day of June. Barrett hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th as FSU eliminated NIU 7-4.
“To wrap this up tonight in the manner that we did,” FSU coach Link Jarrett said. “To have these guys stand there and fight, sometimes I wish it wasn’t such a dogfight. Was it one of the best defensive games we’ve played, or was it the worst? It's hard to assess.”
FSU decided to go with junior right-hander Cooper Whited for the start. The Seminoles jumped out to a 3-2 lead and would keep the lead heading into the bottom of the fourth inning until Northern Illinois first baseman Gavin Baldwin blasted a solo home run over the right-field fence to tie the game. Whited would get pulled after 3.1 innings and finished with three strikeouts.
Junior right-hander Chris Knier would come in and record a career-high five strikeouts, but in the bottom of the seventh inning would prove to be shaky. Knier would fumble a bunt that wound up being an error and with the bases loaded, and he would walk in a run. Knier also hit a batter that inning and, to make matters worse, the infield didn't give him much help as they would botch a double play.
Junior right-hander Brodie Purcell would spell relief for Knier.
“As seasons evolve, you learn more about the team and the team's growth,” Jarrett said. “Theres so much newness and I think we had 23-24 new players, so sometimes it takes time in that locker room to figure it out and they have escalated the fun level in the locker room.”
The Huskies headed into the top of the eighth inning up 4-3 but the Seminoles still had another rally left in them. Redshirt senior designated hitter Nathan Cmeyla would hit an RBI double to tie the game. With a runner on third base, Gabe Fraser would ground out to end the inning, leaving yet another runner on base which would be a recurring theme for Florida State.
After Purcell struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth, the Seminoles had one more shot to put some runs on the board in the top of the ninth but were unsuccessful. The Huskies couldn’t muster anything either when they came to bat and the game extended into extra innings.
Brody DeLamielleure started off the 10th inning with a single after a Brayden Dowd walk. With Dowd hustling to third base, Hunter Carns would fly out to score Dowd and give FSU the 5-4 lead.
What followed next was the clincher: Barrett’s two-run home run over deep right field to extend the lead to 7-4 and ignite the crowd at Dick Howser Stadium.
Purcell would shut the door on the Huskies to secure the win. In a series full of ups and downs, and plenty of rain delays, the Florida State baseball team lives to fight another day.
“I tried to stay to the right center, that's where I have my power and that’s where I feel best,” Barrett said. “So I was trying to stay that way. The play was just honestly kind of that flow state you hear about, just made the play.”
The Seminoles will take on St. John’s on Monday at noon (TV to be determined) to keep their title hopes alive.
