FSU Baseball suffers biggest embarrassment ever in regional sweep

FSU baseball hit an all time program low when – as a national seed – they were swept out of the Tallahassee Regional this weekend.

With one swing of the bat and a ball flying over the left field wall of Dick Howser Stadium, the FSU baseball team saw their entire season come to an end a lot earlier than anyone expected – not just those of us who root for the Seminoles, but anyone who follows college baseball at all.

The 3-2 loss to Mississippi State on Saturday was not just the end of the season for head coach Mike Martin and the Noles: it was the biggest embarrassment in the history of a program that has been the butt of jokes for decades based on their inability to have success when the get to Omaha for the College World Series.

In the opening game of the Tallahassee Regional, FSU baseball couldn’t complete the comeback and were shocked – as the No. 7 seed nationally – by the Samford Bulldogs in a 7-6 setback. It was the same beginning to the regional for a Seminoles team who also lost their opener the season before inside their home field.

Why was that different? Because the 2017 Seminoles exceeded expectations. It was a team that wasn’t supposed to have a monster showing in the ACC Baseball Tournament, much less make it to Omaha like they did – so while that was a disappointing loss, it wasn’t the end of the world.

This one hurts more because of what was thought about this team. The Seminoles were a top five team entering the season and spent plenty of time ranked in the top 10. This was a Noles team that beat three straight ranked teams last weekend on their way to another conference crown.

The FSU baseball team worked their way up to be one of the top eight national seeds entering the NCAA tournament – and in just 18 innings, they worked their way into an embarrassment that won’t soon be forgotten.

Yes, I get that having Cole Sands leave the game early in Friday’s opener and a two and a half hour rain delay on Saturday could have played a role – but this was a Seminoles team that has no business losing to Samford or a 31-26 team that finished ninth place in the SEC West.

You can also be willing to bet that if FSU baseball is in the same position in the future – on the border of being a national seed or not – the NCAA committee is going to think twice about putting a single digit by the Seminoles when it comes time to decide.

Entering this weekend, the question was whether this was finally going to be the season where the Noles broke the curse of Omaha and win the first national title in program history. Heck, some even didn’t like the Seminoles, but were rooting for Mike Martin to win the crown after becoming the winningest coach in college baseball history.

Next: Title or not, Mike Martin should retire after 2018 season

Now, for a while, the FSU baseball team is going to be the joke of the game – as just 32 of the 152 teams to have been a national seed in the previous 19 seasons have lost in the first round. The Seminoles now became No. 33 and have to wonder if the stigma will ever leave the program.