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3 up, 3 down: Late-inning rally helps FSU baseball defeat USF

The ’Noles remain unbeaten after a rainy afternoon against the Bulls.

By Kris Dunn
NCAA Baseball: College World Series-Cal State Fullerton vs Florida State
Florida State celebrates victory
Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

FSU remains unbeaten after a late-inning rally against USF. The Seminoles’ bats were quiet for most of the game, however, their ability to get on base via the walk helped secure the 5-2 victory over the Bulls.

Three up

  1. Walks, walks, and more walks. Florida State entered today’s contest with a .444 OBP, due in large part to the number of walks it has received. Leadoff walks — Mike Salvatore (1st inning) and Nick Derr (2nd inning) — gave the ’Noles key opportunities early. Through four games this season, FSU batters have walked 38 times.
  2. Andrew Karp pitched five solid innings, allowing only one run. And, if not for a Drew Mendoza throwing error, USF doesn’t score at all on the FSU starter. He’s gone 7.1 IP this season without allowing an earned run.
  3. Conor Grady had another nice relief outing. Grady pitched two scoreless innings, striking out five batters, on Sunday afternoon. Today, he came on after Clayton Kwiatkowski, in the eighth inning, and retired the Bulls on 16 pitches. He’s racked up 3 IP, 0 H, 6 K, 1 BB in two appearances this season.

Three down

  1. The Seminoles are not taking advantage of scoring opportunities. Florida State had the bases loaded in the first and third inning, and put the leadoff man on in the second, but managed to score only one run. The ’Noles left 13 men on base against USF.
  2. Cal Raleigh is having trouble throwing out runners this season. USF successfully stole second twice on the FSU catcher, and he’s yet to throw out any would-be base stealers. Perhaps most troubling, Raleigh’s first attempt on Tuesday bounced off the lower back of Karp. After a brief visit from the trainers, Karp stayed in the game.
  3. Trouble at the top. The top-of-the-order bats of Salvatore and Jackson Lueck have not produced yet. The shortstop and left fielder have combined to go 3-for-26 so far this season. On Tuesday, the duo posted an 0-for 7 line with one strikeout each. The good news? They totaled three walks and three runs scored in the victory.

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