Three up, three down: FSU baseball drops G3 at Georgia Tech

No. 25 FSU baseball (20-15, 15-12 ACC) fell to Georgia Tech (19-16, 15-12 ACC) by a score of 9-8 today. It was FSU’s eighth one-run loss of the year. The ‘Noles jumped out to an early lead, but Georgia Tech’s offense stormed back. FSU produced seven hits and nine walks and three homers at the plate. But the ‘Noles allowed nine hits, five walks, and made a costly error in the field. Florida State is yet to pick up their second sweep of the season.

Three up

• Matheu Nelson is almost a guaranteed up at this point of the season. The catcher is putting up unbelievable numbers at the plate and seems to be completely unstoppable. For the second time this weekend, Nelson gave the Seminoles a first inning lead. After Tyler Martin led off with a walk, Nelson brought him around on a two-run blast. The Largo native got every bit of a 2-2 changeup for his 18th homer of the year. The catcher homered in every game of the series.

In the next inning, Nelson just missed his 19th homer. The right-handed hitter drove a line drive off the top of the left field wall for his 10th double of the year. His 10 doubles is a team high. Nelson is hitting .339 on the year and is the national home run leader. The backstop also threw out his 11th runner of the season in the 3rd inning. He has been the best catcher in the country.

• Nander De Sedas’ power is starting to become a major factor at the bottom of FSU’s lineup. The shortstop put the exclamation mark on FSU’s first inning. De Sedas attacked a first pitch fastball and sent it over the LF wall for a three-run blast. The homer was his sixth of the season. The HR put FSU up 5-0 before Conor Grady toed the rubber. Three of the five runs came with two outs. De Sedas has a homer in each of the last three weekends. De Sedas also had a hit every game this series. The shortstop also lined a single up the middle in the ninth to cut the lead to one and tied a career-high with 4 RBI. His best play of the day came in the bottom of the third inning. De Sedas ranged to his left and made a diving stop up the middle, before making a strong throw to first to rob GT of a leadoff single.

• Hunter Perdue was lights out in relief today. The right-handed pitcher entered the game with the bases loaded and one out. First, he induced a weak grounder back to the mound and got the first out at home. He then induced two fly balls, one sac-fly to center, to limit the damage to just one and keep FSU in the lead. With the help of his defense, he worked back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the 3rd and the 4th. His fastball sat in the 95-96 range and topped out at 97 MPH. He also commanded his low 80’s slider at a high rate. He posted a line of 3 IP, 0 H, 1 K, 1 BB, and 0 R. His season ERA is down to 2.70.
• Bonus: Elijah Cabell did not start after striking out four times in game two. The outfielder pinch hit in the 7th inning for Davis Hare. Zach Maxwell had struck out six straight batters when Cabell stepped to the plate. Cabell greeted him with a moonshot. The redshirt sophomore turned around a 2-strike, 99 MPH FB and sent it well over the trees ober the right field fence. It was his 9th homer of the season. Cabell’s raw power is unmatched in the country. He also walked in the 9th inning.

• Bonus: Wyatt Crowell kept the Seminoles in the game in the later innings. In the 6th, Crowell worked around a 2-out double for a scoreless inning. In the 7th, he posted a crucial shutdown inning. The freshman worked a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. He posted a final line of 2.2 IP, 1 H, and 2 K’s. His season ERA is down to 2.79.

Three down

• The fifth inning was a disaster for FSU. Clayton Kwiatkowski entered the game to start the fifth and allowed a double to the only batter he faced. Tyler Ahearn then entered the game and allowed four straight singles as GT tied the game at five. Jonah Scolaro was next on the mound. He induced a routine double play ball, but De Sedas couldn’t handle the grounder as the Yellow Jackets took the lead. A two-out, two-run bloop double gave the Yellow Jackets a 9-5 lead. It was a 6-run inning for GT as four FSU pitchers touched the mound. Only four of the runs were earned due to the error.
• Conor Grady just didn’t have it today. Grady cruised through a 1-2-3 first inning to start his day but fell apart in the second. Grady couldn’t find the strike zone and it cost him. The veteran walked the first two batters of the inning, before allowing a single to load the bases. Andrew Jenkins got a ball over Logan Lacey’s head for a 2-run double. Grady’s day ended on his third walk of the inning. He was charged with 3 ER and only got three outs.
• Florida State’s injuries are starting to pile up again. Kwiatkowski only faced one batter due to injury. Immediately after throwing the pitch on the double, the southpaw was in discomfort. The trainer was looking at his left forearm and Kwiatkowski was visibly frustrated as he had to leave the game. The southpaw is arguably the most important reliever on FSU’s staff. He’s posted a 2.55 ERA in 17.2 IP this season. Nelson had to come out of the game due to injury in the sixth inning. During Crowell’s warmup pitches, Nelson’s left wrist/thumb was hit on a spiked curveball. He was immediately taken out of the game by the trainer. Nelson has dealt with thumb issues this season. Losing Nelson for any period of time would be a massive blow to FSU’s season. In two at-bats in place of Nelson, Colton Vincent went hitless and grounded into an inning-ending double play.

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