Three up, three down: Boston College walks off FSU

Chestnut Hill, MA - The Seminoles and Parker Messick jumped out to an early lead before Boston College’s pitching dominated. The bullpen imploded in the ninth as BC walked off FSU, 3-2.

Florida State’s offense started early with a Jordan Carrion single and stolen base. James Tibbs drove Carrion in with a single and advanced to third on a Jaime Ferrer double. Reese Albert plated Tibbs with a single for the second run of the inning. Ferrer would get caught in a rundown to end the inning. BC battled back to score a run of their own in the second off an RBI groundout. The Eagles then tied the game in the fifth off a double and an infield single. Messick appeared to injure himself on the cover attempt at first but was able to remain in the game.

Boston College’s Joe Mancini settled down after the first and he and Messick engaged in a pitcher’s duel. From the first to the ninth, Mancini retired 24 straight Seminoles. Messick was equally dominant only allowing five hits over his eight innings. He reached double digits in strikeouts again with 12 on the night.

Conner Whittaker took the mound in the ninth and hit the only base runner he faced. Jonah Scolaro was next up and gave up a single and a walk to load the bases. Davis Hare then was handed the ball with no outs and asked to do the near impossible. Hare started with a strikeout but then walked in the game winning run to give BC the 3-2 win.

Game Thread

Box Score

Two up

Messick continues his dominance

8 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 12 K, 0 BB. Messick pitched another gem to help kickoff the weekend series for Florida State. With more run support, Messick’s win totals would be close or in the double digits. For the season Messick has struck out 128 batters compared to just 12 walks.

FSU’s defense shines

The FSU defense has struggled throughout the year. There have been several games where the Seminoles committed multiple errors which have cost them the game. Tonight, FSU’s defense played clean and even helped keep runs off the board. A few key highlights were Jaime Ferrer’s huge diving catch in the first and also the infield turning a massive double play in the eighth.

Two down

Bullpen melts down

Messick kept FSU in the game through eight innings before turning the ball over to the pen in the ninth. Conner Whittaker hit the only batter he saw before giving way to Scolaro. It was a disaster of an appearance for Scolaro as he allowed a single and a walk before being pulled. Davis Hare would finally record an out in the inning but then walked in the game winning run. It was an awful showing for an improved pen.

Offense can’t break through

Credit to the FSU offense and their first inning runs. The Seminoles jumped on Mancini before he could settle in for the game. But after the first, the FSU bats went cold and could not find success as Mancini pounded the strike zone. The Seminoles only struck out four times on the night but failed to disrupt Mancini out of his groove.

Up Next: FSU will look to tie the series tomorrow at 2:00 PM.