Florida State baseball looked as if it were going to pick up where it left off on Friday night, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Clemson on Saturday. The Noles had eight hits in the first four innings, but only managed to score three runs in the first three to eventually lose 4-3.
The Florida State offense went hitless after the fourth inning, as they failed to adjust their gameplan after the Clemson starter exited the game. Clemson’s starter was an offspeed guy who topped out around 89-90 mph. Florida State ambushed him early in counts for early success, but failed to make the adjustment when Clemson went to its relievers, who threw much harder.  They either hit weak ground balls, pop ups, or struck out after getting behind in the count.
The lack of offense cost the Noles once again. Here's to hoping they show up on Sunday.
The streak of having fewer than 10 strikeouts ended, as 12 Florida State batters struck out. They gave Trey Beard and the bullpen very little margin for error, and it cost them. Beard was solid, going 5.1 innings, allowing five hits, three earned runs, one walk, and four strikeouts. Clemson scored the tying run on an 0-2 count hit with two outs. They scored the eventual winning run on a passed ball/wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the eighth after FSU pitchers allowed a hit, an intentional walk, and another walk to load the bases.
Florida State needs to win the rubber match on Sunday to keep any hope of earning a top-eight national seed. They’ll face one of Clemson’s best pitchers in recent years, and the offense will likely need to score some runs with Bryson Moore looking kind of shaky, and the FSU bullpen somewhat depleted over the past two games.
Sunday’s game will start at 3 p.m. and will air on ESPN2.
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