3 up, 3 down: Florida State falls to Florida Gulf Coast

The No. 1 Florida State baseball squad followed up a midweek loss to Florida with a second consecutive loss to FGCU at JetBlue Park on Wednesday night by a final score of 5-2.

3 Up:

1. After not walking once against UF, Florida State reached via a walk three times alone in the top of the first inning against FGCU, contributing to two runs scored that frame. Additionally, FSU walked nine total times in the game. Not walking against Florida is something that FSU and the fans should not be too worried about moving forward. FSU still holds a large lead for most walks in the nation, as its 132 base on balls are 25 more than Mercer in second.
2. After the disappointing start from Ed Voyles, the FSU bullpen did its part to reduce the damage. Will Zirzow was the first replacement, going 3 2/3 innings giving up one run and striking out one. Jim Voyles then came on for two scoreless innings, succeeded by one innings of scoreless ball from Alec Byrd. In their 7 2/3 total innings, the FSU ‘pen gave up just two runs on two hits and seven walks.
3. The third up is that Florida State does not play two consecutive midweek season games away from Tallahassee for the rest of the season. Having two straight midweek games, especially on the road, throws off the flux with scheduling, training and most importantly the rotation. It forces a normal bullpen guy to go longer then usual, and uses more of the bullpen with a short turnaround for that upcoming weekend series. FSU just played three games vs. BC, at Florida on Tuesday, at FGCU on Wednesday and now just has one off day to get ready and healed for Virginia Tech.

3 Down:

1. With midweek starting pitcher Andrew Karp throwing a sensational 11 strikeout game vs. Florida on Tuesday, Ed Voyles started against FGCU on Wednesday. Voyles would not make it out of the first inning, getting pulled by head coach Mike Martin after recording just one out. Voyles’ final line included two earned runs (three total), one walk and three hits given up. With already a two game midweek series with a three game road trip at VT coming up, the last thing Florida State needed was to use more relievers. His ERA for the season is now 9.53 after coming into Wednesday’s game with four earned runs in 5 1/3 innings pitches.
2. Florida State had no problem getting runners on base, however could not get those base runners home. Through the first seven innings, FSU left 15 runners on base including five innings with multiple runners left on, three times with the bases loaded. As the game came to an end, Florida State hit just 2-12 with runners on base, stranding a total of 15.
3. Although Florida State walked a total of nine times, FSU struck out 11 times as well, and only were able to accumulate five hits. With Florida State reaching on all those walks, there were no hits to bring those runners home. It’s very rare to score on four walks or hit by pitches, which make those hits all that more important. Mike Martin put it best after the game, saying, “You can’t win ballgames when you only put the ball in play 16 times.”