Seminoles too small for the moment, get swept by Florida

Although they had little left to play for this season, Florida State (15-28, 6-18) put up a fight against Florida, but the result was the same as the other two games this season. Florida (36-10, 14-7) took advantage of the chances they created and FSU did not, despite creating more opportunities for themselves.

In his first two starts against Florida, Ben Barrett threw a total of nine innings, giving up just one run on five hits. In game three, however, Florida figured him out. Barrett walked the lead-off runner before giving up a single that put runners at the corners. Another single brought in a UF run but Barrett bounced back with a strikeout. Unfortunately, he hit the next two batters and his day was done after just a third of an inning pitched. Andrew Armstrong came in and gave up three runs on a single and fielder’s choice before ending the inning.

Down 4-0, the FSU offense used an aggressive plate approach to string together hits. DeAmez Ross started the game out with a single and came home on Jamie Ferrer’s double. James Tibbs brought in Ferrer with a single and came home on Cam Smith’s first of two triples on the day. Nander DeSedas brought Smith home with a fielder’s choice error and would later score on Jordan Carrion’s single, putting the Seminoles up 5-4.

Both teams settled down and gave up very little over the next three innings. The Seminoles had a chance to widen their lead in the bottom of the fourth when Colton Vincent was hit by a pitch and Ross recorded his second of three singles on the day. Ferrer moved them up on a sac bunt, and Florida elected to walk Tibbs, loading the bases with one out. Blake Purnell was able to get out of the jam for Florida, striking out Smith and DeSedas.

Florida took the lead in the fifth inning with back-to-back home runs on back-to-back pitches, ending Armstrong’s day. A walk and a double off Ryan Denison stretched the lead to 7-5, but Denison held the Gators there. Brennen Oxford and Doug Kirkland combined to hold Florida scoreless over the next three innings to keep the Seminoles close.

In the seventh, FSU threatened again with a one-out Smith triple, but a strikeout and flyout ended their chances. In the eighth, Ferrer came up again with runners at second and third, but he struck out, and FSU went quiet in the ninth.

Up Next: Florida State hosts a solid Mercer team for the weekend with game one slated for Friday at 6.