Early returns of the FSU/Cal game were not in favor of the garnet and gold but the ‘Noles battled and beat the Bears by a score of 4-3. FSU got down early but kept grinding and pulled out a win with just a little bit of luck. Early in the game Cal SS Keshawn Ogans snuck a fly ball over the right field fence but jumped over home plate in his celebration. After a review Ogans was awarded a triple but called out for missing home plate.

Three Up

• James Tibbs has shown an advanced plate approach for any batter never mind a freshman. Mike Martin Jr decided to show his trust in the freshman and moved him up to #2 in the order but the early returns were not great. Against Josh White, Tibbs struck out three times but singled in the 8th only to be brought home on an Alex Toral home run and plated the winning run in the 9th with a single up the middle. For any player to show that kind of fortitude is impressive, for a freshman to do it is amazing. Tibbs is now 10 for 28 on the year with 5 extra base hits and a walk off single.

• Parker Messick struggled in only the most Parker Messick way possible. Cal came in with a good approach of being aggressive early in counts. Cal has good hitters and this worked well for them as they had two home runs and a double through three innings resulting in two runs. They later tacked on another run with a pair of infield singles and some productive outs. Messick persisted. Around the third inning Messick found his footing and ended up pitching 7.1 innings giving up six hits, three runs, one walk and striking out nine. By the end of his day he was very obviously a catalyst for FSU and the ‘Noles responded with two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to secure the win.
• Much like Tibbs redshirt senior Alex Toral struggled early. Three Ks to start the game is not what you want out of your four hole hitter is less than ideal but in the eighth with a runner on Toral sent a no doubter over the right field fence, yelled at the Cal bench and finished his home run trot with a chop. Toral now leads the team with 13 Ks but he also leads the team in doubles, RBI and is tied for the lead in home runs and you’ll take that.

Three Down

1. Florida State struck out 16 times on the night and once with the bases loaded in the ninth with one out. FSU fans have a bit of PTSD with strike outs and the way the 2021 offense gobbled them up but with a pitcher like Josh White on the mound you’re going to strike out. However, the ‘Noles kept grinding out at bats and ended up chasing White after five innings due more to pitch count than effectiveness. After White left the game FSU withstood a plethora of Cal relievers and finally broke through in the eighth and ninth inning to secure the win.
2. Frankly any complaints at this point are nitpicky.
3. N/A

Florida State returns to the diamond tomorrow at 4:00 PM against Cal looking to secure the series behind Bryce Hubbart.