FSU baseball: Takeaways from ‘Noles series win over Miami

FSU baseball (32-18, 15-12 ACC) took a series win over the Miami Hurricanes in hopes of keeping their hopes of hosting a regional alive. They still have a huge game against Florida and a three-game series against North Carolina on the regular-schedule. However, their series win over Miami was much-needed and probably unexpected after the 8-2 loss in the series opener. However, the Noles showed a lot of grit and determination in the final two games against a well-rounded Miami squad. Here are some key takeaways from the series:

Game one

FSU baseball jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but a three-run home run against Parker Messick in the second inning gave Miami a lot of confidence. The Hurricanes got into the FSU bullpen with a 5-1 lead, and Mike Martin Jr. bringing in Dylan Simmons seemed to be a move to concede the game and get the next two. After all, it was unlikely they’d overcome that deficit. Miami poured on three more runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach. The three-run homer seemed to suck the life out of Noles, and they didn’t offer much after that point. That’s what made the second game of the doubleheader so important. FSU needed to get off to a good start to get some confidence and let Miami know they wouldn’t lay down and that’s what they did behind Bryce Hubbart.

Game two

This game seemed to be the reverse of the first game. Bryce Hubbart was dealing for the Noles, and the offense built a 5-0 lead in the first three innings. However, three of those runs were gifts because of Miami errors. Bryce Hubbart and Wyatt Crowell combined for 17 strikeouts, two walks, six hits, and one earned run. As dominant as they were, FSU was fortunate to be in a position to win the game, even with three Miami errors(really at least four as they ruled some errors hits). FSU didn’t help themselves going 1-20 with runners in scoring position. Tyler Martin and Jordan Carrion were 5-9, with three runs and two RBI. Brett Roberts had a big game offensively, and Alex Toral had a two important RBI. As bad as Miami played, the game shouldn’t have been as close as it was.

Game three

This game was where I felt FSU baseball took it to Miami and beat them straight up. FSU scored two runs in the first, and Miami made it clear they were not going to lay down and took a 3-2 lead into the fourth inning. Ross Dunn relieved Scolaro and dominated the Miami offense the remainder of the game. The FSU offense did a lot of damage with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back singles from the bottom of the lineup and a walk to load the bases put FSU baseball in a position to score. Jordan Carrion hustling to beat out a double play and two hits with two outs helped provide some cushion for Ross Dunn, and the rest is history. FSU took that win from Miami and didn’t need a lot of help with them looking like the Bad News Bears defensively like in game two.

-Jordan Carrion was 6-12 with three RBI

-Tyler Martin was 4-7 with three runs scored

-Jaime Ferrer was 3-10 with three RBI

-Brett Roberts was 5-10

-FSU only committed two errors on defense

I said this before the rubbermatch. Miami’s vulnerable after their ace goes in the first game. If you have a pitching staff that can nullify their offense, they’re beatable, and FSU just happened to have some guys to step their games up. Hubbart picked up where he left off against Boston College and Wyatt Crowell has been lights out for a while.

The surprise was Ross Dunn dominating Miami out of the bullpen. We’ve seen it before with Dunn out of the bullpen, but we’ve seen him struggle in a starting role after that performance as well. His performance against Miami signals they need to keep him coming out of the bullpen. I think I’d go with a Johnny Wholestaff approach in the Sunday game against North Carolina next week.

The FSU offense did enough to get the job done and that’s all they’ll need as long as the pitching staff plays up to their capabilities. The win over Miami showed a lot of heart and grit considering how the first game went down. Here’s to having another strong week against Florida and North Carolina.