Everything about the match up between the Seminoles and Blue Devils except the weather was very meh. Neither pitcher looked strong. Both offenses struggled with opportunities and the game went to extra innings meaning patrons missed tailgating time before the spring game. The ‘Noles fell to the Blue Devils 6-5 in 11 innings.

Three up

• Florida State maximized their hits on Saturday. Both Jackson Lueck and Stephen Wells went yard for the ‘Noles. If you aren’t going to get a lot of hits you need to make them count and FSU did.
• The beauty of FSU’s approach at the plate is that even when they struggle to get hits they can put pressure on opposing pitchers. Florida State drew 8 walks, 3 of which turned into runs. In the 7th inning the ‘Noles drew a HBP and a single. Even though the next 2 batters struck out FSU was able to plate 2 runs and take the lead. The Seminoles secured 4 base runners in that inning due to being patient at the plate and knowing what they’re up against. Against a team with top tier pitching, like UF, this would be a bad idea and FSU doesn’t sit back in those games. Against a team like Duke, with average pitching, a team with Florida State’s approach can put up 5 runs even though they are slumping at the plate.
• The spring game was played today.

Three down

• Drew Parrish once again had a middling outing. While Parrish did go 7 innings and strike out 7 Blue Devils he give up 2 walks, 1 hit by pitch and 6 hits. Of the 6 hits the only single was a bunt that Parrish threw high to first, drawing Rhett Aplin off the bag of what would have likely been an out. All of that resulted in 4 Duke players crossing home plate and putting Parrish in line for the loss by the time he left the game. One could question why Parrish was sent out for the 7th inning when he was already over 100 pitches and gave up so many extra base hits but the FSU pen has been unreliable as of late.
• Speaking of which... Given the lead entering the 8th inning Johan Scolaro pitched well until he recorded 1 out in the 9th. He would not record another out as he gave up a triple and single blowing FSU’s 1 run lead. Connor Grady entered the game at the point and extinguished the threat but in the 11th gave up a solo home run that sealed the game for the Devils.
• FSU’s offense has been in a slump for the past few games. After putting up 10 against Georgia Tech the FSU offense had scored over 3 runs once in the past 5 games. While the ‘Noles put up 5 in Saturday’s loss it wasn’t pretty. Florida State did get 2 home runs from Lueck and Wells but only totaled 5 hits, struck out 13 times and hit into 4 double plays. That accounts 21 of 33 outs on the day. The 4-9 hitters in the lineup combined for just 2 hits and 11 strike outs.