FSU baseball had Oregon State right where they wanted them after forcing a winner-take-all game three on Sunday night but lost 14-10.
FSU jumped out to a 2-0 early lead on a Max Williams home run in the top of the first.
Starting pitching Wes Mendes had been excellent in his previous three starts against quality competition but didn't have it on Sunday night.
It was the worst-case scenario for FSU, with Mendes only recording two outs before exiting while allowing seven runs.
FSU got a run back in the top of the second on a Chase Williams home run, but Oregon State started taking batting practice off of FSU relievers, scoring six more runs in the bottom of the third for a 13-3 lead.
FSU scored once more in the top of the fourth, and Oregon State answered again to make it 14-4. FSU continued to fight, scoring two runs in the fifth and sixth innings to trim the lead to 14-8.
Alex Lodise barely missed a grand slam, which could have turned the momentum in the game, but FSU left nine runners on base. Oregon State left two runners on base.
FSU got its first two runners on in the top of the ninth and scored two runs, but that was all they could muster.
I wrote the difference in the game would likely be FSU's starting pitching, banking on Mendes because I thought FSU would score on Oregon State's bullpen pitching. The latter came to fruition, with FSU pounding 17 hits and 10 runs. However, the early deficit was too much to overcome.
Some FSU fans will blame Link Jarrett or Micah Posey, but ultimately, the FSU players failed to execute. They outplayed Oregon State over the first two games, but Oregon State capitalized more on the mistakes FSU made on the mound.
FSU also did themselves no favors running into outs on the bases in game one. These postseason games boil down to who makes the fewest mistakes and capitalizes on the mistakes the opponents make. This team probably overachieved based on what they lost from last year's team. However, it still hurts knowing they were one strike away from returning to the College World Series for a chance to end the national title drought.