Seminoles weathered early struggles, clutch hitting, and pitching depth to secure a tense victory, keeping their elite ranking intact.
The Florida State Seminoles, ranked in the top 10 by all three major college baseball news outlets, emerged from their one-off head-to-head at Stetson with their lofty ranking intact on Tuesday night.
The Seminoles (22-6, 7-2 ACC) posted a 6-3 win over the Hatters on the road in Deland, Florida.
Seminoles starter Cooper Whited was visited on the mound almost immediately by pitching coach Micah Posey after an inauspicious start to the game. The junior left-hander got into a jam with runners at the corners in the first inning.
Stetson (12-17, 3-5 Atlantic Sun Conference) started off much better. Pitcher Brendan Walker retired the side twice and recorded two strikeouts and gave up zero runs, no hits, and no walks in the first two innings.
Then, inexplicably, Walker was pulled and replaced by Jose Roig, who promptly gave up a double to Chase Williams and then he tried to hold on with runners at the corners. Williams scored to give Florida State a 1-0 lead in the third. Kelvyn Paulino scored in the fourth to increase the Seminoles' lead to 2-0.
Stetson got on the scoreboard courtesy of a two-run home run by Samuel Fernandez to tie the game at 2-2.
Later, Noah Sheffield launched a 378-foot, two-RBI home run over the left-field fence and the scoring barrage was on, as the Seminoles scored four runs over the sixth and seventh innings.
Stetson added a run of its own to cut the lead to 6-3 heading into the eighth.
Florida State pounded out eight hits, led by Noah Sheffield’s homer, and Williams went 2-for-4 with his double and RBI.
The Seminoles used five pitchers against the Hatters, posting 14 strikeouts, four walks, and three runs on six hits. Broadie Purcell (2-0) got the win for Florida State, as he gave up zero hits, zero runs, two walks and fanned four batters. Dallis Moran took the loss for Stetson.
Florida State gets a much-needed day of rest, then hits the road, traveling to No. 10 Virginia for a three-game battle of top-10 teams.
The series begins Thursday at 5 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on ACC Network.
Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET, and Saturday’s finale starts at 11 a.m. ET.
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