7th-Ranked Seminoles Fall at No. 10 Virginia

In his weekly press conference Thursday morning, Florida State coach Link Jarrett said the three-game series with Virginia, and every weekend series for the rest of the season, "feels like a Super Regional."

"And you're on the road and you've got to adapt and figure out how to survive this thing, and go out and play good baseball today," Jarrett said.

The Seminoles did not play well enough Thursday evening to survive Game 1 against the Cavaliers (24-7, 8-5 ACC), taking a 4-3 loss to the 10th-ranked team in college baseball.

The Cavaliers strategically marched their best four pitchers out to the mound against Florida State (21-7, 7-3), and combined for 11 strikeouts. Searching for what Jarrett recently called "quality at-bats," the Seminoles managed only four hits in the outing and left four baserunners stranded.

Noah Sheffield and Hunter Carns combined for all three of the Seminoles' runs.

Florida State ace Wes Mendes (6-2) took the loss after five innings of work, posting seven strikeouts, two walks and four earned runs. This was a stumble out of the starting blocks for Mendes, who in Wednesday was named to Baseball America's Midseason Pitcher of the Year Watch List.

Reliever Chris Knier replaced Mendes in the sixth and held the Cavaliers to scoreless over the final three innings.

For the Cavaliers, Antonio Perrotta launched a two-run home run over the right-field fence; Sam Harris collected a two-run double; and Jake Weatherspoon produced an RBI single to lead Virginia to victory.

As those Super Regional weekends approach, Florida State will face Florida for the third time this season. The Seminoles will then face ACC foes Georgia Tech in Atlanta and, returning home, Notre Dame, which currently ranks in the top half of the ACC standings.

Later on, the Seminoles will battle Stanford and Clemson (on the road), and finish the regular season hosting Miami, three tough opponents widely considered to be perennial powers. But first, Florida State faces Virginia in Game 2.

Date: Friday, April 3

Time: 2 p.m. ET

Location: Disharoon Park, Charlottesville, Virginia

Streaming: ACC Extra

Radio: 100.7 FM WFLA