FSU baseball vs No. 8 TCU: Game recaps

Florida State , in its first major weekend road test under head coach Link Jarrett, took down the TCU Horned Frogs in two out of three games to secure a top ten series win.

FSU now sits at 6-1 on the season after kicking off the year with a sweep of James Madison which was followed up with a road win against the Jacksonville Dolphins.

TCU was the favorite heading into the weekend — but in two games, the Seminoles clinched the series off the back of impressive performances from both the mound and plate. FSU has now scored 10+ runs in five out of its seven games this season and though the Seminoles were unable to pull off the sweep on Sunday, falling to TCU 3-2 to close out the series, the squad showcased enough potential throughout the weekend to amp up the excitement for the season just a bit more.

Up next for the Seminoles are two intrastate matchups at home: a midweek game vs. the USF Bulls and a series vs. the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.

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Sunday: Seminole bats quieted in series finale against TCU

After two impressive offensive performance to start the series, the Florida State bats were silenced in the finale. The game started off a positive note with FSU scratching out two runs in the first inning, taking advantage of the wildness of TCU’s starting pitcher, Cam Brown. From there, TCU would hold Florida State to only one additional hit, striking out 14 Seminoles in total.

Starter Carson Montgomery pitched a solid outing with 5 IP, allowing one run and one walk coupled with five strikeouts. FSU pitchers flirted with disaster several times over the early part of the game, but were saved by multiple inning ending double plays. Andrew Armstrong took the loss in the game after a rough second inning of relief was assisted by poor defense from the Seminoles. After tying the game at the start of the seventh, TCU picked up the tie breaking run off an errant throw by Nander De Sadas. TCU’s reliever Kole Klecker mowed down the FSU bats from that point and the Horned Frogs salvaged a win. Overall, an impressive weekend for the Seminoles as they won the series over a top-10 opponent.

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Saturday: Seminoles clinch series in gritty win

Florida State came into the weekend series vs. the Horned Frogs the underdog — not out of any perceived slights, moreso a realistic reflection of what was known about the two teams and what had so far been displayed this season.

While nobody thought it was unimaginable that the Seminoles could head into Forth Worth and snag a win or two, the performances put up by FSU through the first two games has been nothing short of exciting when considering what the future could hold for the team and head coach Link Jarrett.

After a slow start at the plate, the Florida State offense erupted for five combined runs over the fourth and fifth innings. Jordan Carrion brought in two runs in the fourth on a single and then Jaime Ferrer took over in the fifth. After James Tibbs brought in the third run for FSU, Ferrer crushed a two-run bomb to left center to give the Seminoles a 5-2 lead.

TCU would close the gap to 5-4 headed into the seventh when Cam Smith stepped to the plate and launched a solo shot to right center. After Tibbs reached by a hit by pitch, Ferrer came to the plate again. And delivered again with an absolute monster shot to center to bring the lead to 8-4. FSU would tack on two more in the inning off RBI singles from Treyton Rank and Nander De Sedas.

FSU’s pitching struggled throughout the day with starter Jamie Arnold giving up two runs over 2.2 innings. In total, Florida State sent five pitchers to the mound with all five surrendering at least a run. In spite of that statistic, there were bright spots with Conner Whittaker shutting down a threat in the third and Andrew Armstrong closing out the ninth.

On the day Jamie Ferrer had a monster performance at the plate, logging four RBI and two home runs. FSU will try for the sweep tomorrow.

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Friday: Baumeister leads FSU over No. 8 Texas Christian, 10-1

Florida State switched up their pitching rotation, starting Jackson Baumeister and giving Carson Montgomery extra rest. The switch paid off in a big way as the sophomore had the best outing of his young career with eight strikeouts over 5.2 scoreless innings. Baum did not allow a hit until the sixth inning and kept the Frog bats confused until the end of his night. Wyatt Crowell followed and ended the threat with filth from the mound.

FSU’s offense struggled early against TCU starter Ryan Vanderhei, who recorded nine punch outs on the night but the sixth inning would be the difference maker. The Seminoles would plate three runs in the top half of the inning. FSU recorded three hits, including doubles from Colton Vincent and Jaime Ferrer and took advantage of a wild pitch and error. Florida State scored two more in the eighth and broke the game open in the ninth with a bases loaded clearing double from James Tibbs. The Seminoles tacked on two more to take game one 10-1.

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Florida State 2023 Baseball Schedule

March 1: vs. USF Bulls (5 p.m.)

March 3: vs. Florida Gulf Coast (5 p.m.)

March 4: vs. Florida Gulf Coast (3 p.m.)

March 5: vs. Florida Gulf Coast (1 p.m.)

March 7: vs. Bethune-Cookman (5 p.m.)

March 10: vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (6 p.m.)

March 11: vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (3 p.m.)

March 12: vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (1 p.m.)

March 14: at UCF Knights (6 p.m.)

March 15: at UCF Knights (4 p.m.)