Payton Manca’s start on Sunday couldn’t have gone much worse. But that also helped him appreciate the opportunity in relief against North Florida on Wednesday.
FSU turned to Manca against Nebraska seeking for him to eat up a few innings. But the left-hander struggled as he issued a pair of walks and two doubles, recording just one out in the first inning of a 10-1 loss to the Cornhuskers before he was pulled.
Manca came out of the bullpen on Wednesday, recording a strikeout to end the sixth inning before striking out the side in the seventh. While he did hit a batter in the eighth, Manca had strikeouts to begin and end the inning.
“It felt really good,” Manca said. “Obviously, going out there on Sunday and not getting out of the first is a really bad feeling. It’s baseball. But you kind of have to wash it, like I did. Whenever your name is called you just have to go out there and compete for the team.”
Manca was able to wash away the ugly Sunday outing — “it’s not fun getting shelled,” he said — and did so with a hitless outing of 2.1 innings.
It remains to be seen if Manca will pitch this weekend against The Citadel, especially with short rest coming off a Wednesday game. And Manca is the likely starter for the Seminoles on Tuesday when they host Jacksonville.
But Manca is viewed as a reliable pitcher who will help set the table for FSU in the midweek games, which means he could see Florida a few times in March and April.
“There’s so much upside with him,” FSU coach Link Jarrett said. “It’s not easy to punch out six of eight. He did it.”
Quick turnaround
FSU will play The Citadel on Friday at noon (ACC Network Extra), an early start with the Savannah Bananas and their teams playing at Dick Howser Stadium on Friday evening. Rain will likely also be a factor early on Friday.
Jarrett said the plan is to have left-hander Trey Beard start on Saturday in game 2. Right-hander Bryson Moore is the likely starter on Sunday, although a rotation has not been officially announced.
Injury updates
Jarrett said Jace Estes is “out for a while” with a leg injury that the infielder suffered while the team played in Texas. Brody DeLamielleure is in the concussion protocol, but Jarrett indicated the outfielder is likely to return soon.
On-base machine
Myles Bailey hit two home runs on Wednesday, raising his total to four in just seven games. But with 11 walks, his on-base percentage is up to .676.
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