Five errors is all you need to know about this one.
The Seminoles booted the baseball all evening, leading to their demise, a 14-8 defeat to top ranked Florida in Gainesville. The Noles were a comedy of mistakes in every aspect of defense, with Dylan Busby (three errors) and Ben Deluzio (one error and horrible play in center) especially struggling on the night.
"We obviously did not play well, it's something I hope we can learn from", head coach Mike Martin said. "Five errors isn't going to beat many people."
Florida State started the game off well with two runs in the first inning via a DJ Stewart RBI groundout and a Quincy Nieporte RBI single giving the Noles an early 2-0.
The lead was short lived as the Gators responded with a five spot in the bottom half of the inning off Seminole starter Alec Byrd, who struggled in his outing, to take a 5-2 lead.
Byrd went an inning and a third giving up five runs on six hits, but wasn't helped by his defense at all in the ballgame.
The Gators added a run in the 2nd to push their lead to 6-2.
The Noles responded with a strong 3rd inning cutting the lead to 6-5. Chris Marconcini ripped a two-run double to left field; that was followed by a Dylan Busby RBI single. The Seminoles hit the ball well all evening, a positive sign against a strong Gator pitching staff.
"I was encouraged the way we scrapped back in the ball game", Martin said. "I like the way we showed some fight."
The Gators extended their lead to 7-5 in the 4th inning via some poor Seminole defensive awareness. UF converted a steal home as they distracted Seminole reliever Bryant Holtmann by intentionally tripping up their runner at first and sending the runner from third home. The moment of hesitation was all the Gators needed as the runner reached the plate safely.
FSU rose to the occasion again in the 5th inning, scoring two runs to tie the game at 7-7. A passed ball and a double steal by the Noles evened the score and put new life into the game,
The Gators thwarted the rally yet again as they placed a three spot up in the bottom half of the 5th, thanks in large part to terrible fielding by FSU, to take a 10-7 lead.
The defense thus far in 2015 is a major concern for Florida State and could really hinder their season if not addressed.
Florida put the game away in the 6th and 7th innings off Seminole relievers to push their lead to 14-7. The big blast came in the bottom of the 7th as superstar Gator freshman JJ Schwarz launched a three-run blast to left field.
The Noles would muster one run in the 8th via a John Sansone sacrifice fly to cap the scoring on the night.
The loss moves Florida State to 17-5 on the season and to 1-4 on the road. Next up for FSU is a road series at Virginia, in what will be a major challenge.
Florida moves to 18-3 in 2015 and travels to Ole Miss this weekend for their own three game conference set. The two teams will meet again in Jacksonville March 31.