Florida State Baseball defeats Alabama State

The upset bid was alive and well in Tallahassee on Wednesday evening, but Florida State thwarted that away in an 8-7 come-from-behind victory over Alabama State.

The Hornets got on the board in the 3rd inning via a three-run home run from Yamil Pagan off Alec Byrd. Pagan drilled a liner just over the wall in left to give ASU the early 3-0 lead.

Byrd finished the contest going three innnings, giving up four hits and three runs. This is the third sub-par outing in a row from Byrd for FSU and it does bring up a cause for concern as he was showing signs of being reliable in a lacking Seminole bullpen.

The Noles responded with their own three-run tater in the 4th as Dylan Busby launched his 5th home run of the season, a towering shot to left field. The blast was Busby's third in his last four games and is a welcoming sign to a potent Seminole offensive line-up.

Alabama State put up a four spot in the top of the 6th with the highlight being a monster three-run shot to left center by Manny Rodriguez. The home run was his first of the season and was a surprise, considering he'd hit just .167 in six at-bats in 2015.

Trailing 7-3 FSU chipped away at the Hornet lead with two runs in the bottom of the 6th and two more in the bottom of the 7th. A Hank Truluck RBI walk and a SAC fly for Taylor Walls cut the lead to 7-5 in the 6th, before Chris Marconcini tied the game at 7-7 with a home run to left-center field that was gone the second it left the bat.

The long ball was Marconcini's first as a Seminole and 21st in his career, with the previous 20 coming while he was at Duke. It'll be interesting to see if the home run opens the floodgates for his bat as he was expected to be a power threat for this Seminole line-up in 2015.

With the game tied at 7-7 in the 8th, Danny De La Calle led off the inning with a deep triple to center field. The ball, off the bat, looked like it was gone but hit the middle of the wall in center denying De La Calle of a monster home run. A passed ball would later bring him home to give the Noles an 8-7 lead.

Billy Strode shut it down in the 9th inning for his eight save of the season, preserving an 8-7 Seminole victory.

The win moves Florida State to 20-6 on the season as they next welcome Virginia Tech for a three game set in Tallahassee this weekend.