Florida State, after playing with fire in game two of yesterday’s doubleheader vs. Pitt, looked like it was going to let a series sweep slip from its hands early and often vs. the Panthers on Sunday.
Back-to-back two-out scores had Pitt up 2-1 through two, with the Panthers going up 4-1 in the fourth after poor defense from the Seminoles.
The bottom frame, while it only led to one run from FSU, turned out to be the turning point for Florida State. Facing a 4-2 deficit in the bottom of the fourth, an out at second turned into a double play after FSU was dinged for interference, a ruling upheld by replay. Head coach Link Jarrett, incensed, went to go challenge the second base official but didn’t make it there before being tossed from the game, exiting to the roar of the fans.
From that point on, Florida State scored four runs while Pitt was shut out, handing the Seminoles another crucial ACC sweep at a time of year when each game starts to count more and more.
Bryson Moore got the start on the mound for Florida State, his 11th of the season.
The game started off with a pop-up out for Pitt, followed by a walk. Moore struck out the second batter of the frame on a 2-2 count, with the runner on first advancing to second off a wild pitch. A failed pickoff attempt gave the runner third and a full-count walk put another Panther on. On the next ball, a shallow center field single scored the first run of the game and then Moore hit the next batter, loading the bases, but a fly out stranded them all to end the frame 1-0 in Pitt’s favor.
John Stuetzer, batting in the leadoff spot for FSU, popped up to start the frame for the Seminoles. Brayden Dowd hit a double to put one on, after which Brody DeLamielleure flied out. Hunter Carns was walked to put two on for Florida State but a Nathan Cmeyla groundout closed out the inning and kept Pitt ahead.
The Panthers flew out to center field to start the second, after which Moore got his second strikeout on a full count. Once again, however, Pitt managed to put a run on the board with two outs, this time via a deep right field home run. A groundout closed out the frame with Pitt leading 2-0.
On the first pitch of the bottom of the second, Gabe Fraser hit a double to left center. Eli Putnam went down swinging, after which Cal Fisher and Carter McCulley were both hit by a pitch to load the bases for Florida State. Back at the top of the order, Stuetzer grounded out on a full count, scoring Fraser and leaving two runners in scoring position for the Seminoles with two outs. Dowd’s fly out stranded both, ending the second with the score sitting at 2-1.
For the third straight inning, Florida State got two quick Pitt outs but once more allowed the Panthers to keep the frame alive as Moore gave up a single. This time, however, the away team couldn’t make any magic happen as a groundout produced the first scoreless frame of the game for Pitt.
DeLamielleure, on a 0-2 count, hit a single to keep his 10-game hitting streak alive in the bottom of the third. Carns almost put Florida State up on a shot that fell just short of the wall, after which Cmeyla hit a left field single to put two runners on with one out. Fraser hit a short ball to third, which resulted in DeLamielleure being tagged out. Putnam smacked the first ball he saw that barely missed being a two-run homer, then grounded out to short to send things to the fourth.
Two Pitt walks sandwiched a fly out, at which point Florida State made the move to Payton Manca. A miscommunication between Manca and his defenders led to a throwing error, allowing the Pitt second base runner to score and put runners on the corners. Stuetzer misread the next hit, giving up a single and another run, leaving two on for the Panthers with one out. The Seminoles managed to escape the frame without any further damage done, turning a double play to begin the bottom of the fourth trailing 4-1.
Fisher fouled out to the left fielder in foul territory down the third-base line, followed by McCulley doubling to left center. Florida State got a break of its own off a Stuetzer single, with a missed throw advancing him to second as McCulley scored to pull FSU within two. Dowd was walked to put another on for the Seminoles, after which a bit of chaos ensued — Dowd slid into second and DeLamielleure appeared to be safe, but a double play was called due to interference. The review didn’t show anything egregious on Dowd’s slide but the call was upheld, leading to the ejection of Jarrett and the end of the fourth inning.
The top of the fifth began with a Pitt fly out, followed by Manca’s first strikeout of the game and another fly out for the first three up, three down frame of the game.
Carns began the bottom of the fifth with a 2-2 single, advancing to second after Cmeyla ground out. The Panthers made their first change on the mound, after which a Fraser ground out pushed Carns to third, where he’d score from after a Putnam RBI single. The frame ended on a fielder’s choice, making it a 4-3 game to start the sixth.
Chris Knief took the mound in Manca’s place, with back-to-back Pitt flyouts beginning the frame before a walk put one on. A single down the right field line put runners on the corners for the Panthers with two outs, but both were left stranded for the second-straight scoreless frame from Pitt.
McCulley wasted no time evening things up in the bottom of the sixth, going yard on an 0-1 count for his second homer of the season. Stuetzer flied out for the first out of the frame, after which Dowd singled to put one on, eventually stealing second. Florida State then took its first lead of the game off a DeLamielleure right-center triple that bounced off the fence, extending it off a Carns infield single. Pitt attempted to pick him off, with Carns ruled safe and confirmed after a challenge. Cmeyla struck out for the second out, but a Fraser single kept the inning alive and put runners on the corners for the Seminoles. A wild pitch advanced Fraser to second, but he and Carns were left stranded after a Putnam groundout, keeping Florida State’s lead at 6-4 entering the seventh.
Back-to-back pop-ups earned the first two outs of the top frame for Pitt, with a full-count fly out producing another 1-2-3 showing from the Panthers.
Fisher struck out to begin the bottom of the seventh, with McCulley keeping his big game going with a left field double. Stuetzer struck out after, Pitt then making a change on the mound with Dowd facing a 2-2 count. The new pitcher’s first throw was a wild pitch, advancing McCulley to third, but Dowd went down swinging to keep the game at 6-4.
Knier oversaw a second consecutive three-up, three-down in the top of the eighth, notching another strikeout. In the bottom frame DeLamielleure struck out for the Seminoles’ first out and Carns lined out for the second before Cmeyla singled to keep the frame alive, Clancy Marsh coming in to pinch run for him and eventually being tagged out while trying to steal second.
Pitt, with one last shot to stay in it, began the top of the ninth with a strikeout, the second for Knier. The Panthers popped up for their second out and grounded out for the third, completing Florida State’s comeback and securing the sweep for the Seminoles.
