A scoreless offensive showing and fielding errors doomed Florida State, leaving the Seminoles to ponder a humbling defeat against rival Florida.
It will be a long trip back to Tallahassee on Tuesday night. The Seminoles of Florida State took it on the chin in a 5-0 loss to their in-state rivals, the Florida Gators (20-6, 3-3).
It was a haymaker thrown in March 2025 that landed squarely on the jaw of the Seminoles to avenge an 8-4 loss in Jacksonville last season.
Two and a half hours down I-75 and nothing to think about other than what could have been.
It was their second loss to the Gators this season, as Florida State fell 6-3 earlier this month. It was the first shutout loss of 2026 for Florida State (19-5, 5-1).
With ACC series wins against Wake Forest and NC State sandwiched around a no-hitter against Bethune-Cookman, the Seminoles arrived in Jacksonville dressed for mediocrity and ready to seize nothing.
At the plate, Florida State was a dismal 3-for-27, 0-for-5 with runners on and, 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and struck out 16 times. They burned through five pitchers who combined for five hits, five earned runs, eight walks and eight strikeouts.
The big bats that the Seminoles have relied on thus far in the 2026 campaign were as silent as a morgue. And when they did manage to put runners on base (on just four hits), they were left stranded, seven in all. In the field, Florida State committed two error which aided Florida’s winning efforts.
In his post-game press conference, Florida State coach Link Jarrett gave credit to the Florida Gators for the way they played, and spoke about his team’s performance in the loss.
“Tough game. They pitched and played really well. We clearly did not,” said Jarrett. “Very unfortunate the conditions for a game of this magnitude were what they were. I mean that was at times almost ball in air unplayable. Ball on ground very difficult. Their guys, their three guys pitched really well and exposed us at times with some of the movement and location of the fast ball combined with the quality of the the breaking pitch and the secondary pitches. So well-played game by them. Tough.”
Jarrett said, “If you don't score, you're going to have obviously a very difficult time. So, it revolved around to me the quality of their pitching and at times our difficulty in navigating what they were doing and their execution of the stuff.”
When asked about whether he was still learning about his team at this point in the season, Jarrett said, “Some of the games we've won, we've seen it. And I we do have some young guys that are still learning.”
“I think we had three freshmen in the lineup tonight. And there there's still growth in what's happening in trying to harness the recognition and the comfort of standing in the box and managing pitching of the caliber that they threw tonight.”
“And I think that's the biggest part of it. So, I'm always learning our personnel and what we need to try to do better to put them in position to succeed. Part of it still is their growth and ownership and knowledge of what this looks like and feels like. So, the at-bats and the decisions at the plate become a little bit better. And that's where we are," said Jarrett.
Kelvyn Paulino continues to be a steady presence at the plate, collecting another hit and leading the team in batting average at .393. Myles Bailey was a non-factor in the game, as he went 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout.
Cooper Whited (1-1) took the loss for Florida State. Russell Sandefer notched his first win of the season for the Gators. Florida’s Jackson Barberi recorded his second save of the season.
With the Gators in the rearview mirror, Florida State now will turn its attention to their next ACC opponent, the Duke Blue Devils (17-10, 4-5), whom they will host in a three-game series beginning on Friday.
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