Controversial call completely alters FSU, UVA game in 7th inning in ACC Baseball Tournament

A controversial non-catch call in the seventh inning proved to be costly for Virginia during the ACC Baseball Tournament on Friday against Florida State.

With FSU leading 7-2, Cavaliers outfielder Bobby Whalen nearly made an incredible leaping catch as he banged into the wall in centerfield on a ball hit by Daniel Cantu. However, umpires ruled that the ball came out of Whalen’s glove before he had full control.

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Replay appeared to show Cantu taking multiple steps before losing the ball, but the call was not overturned upon review. You can see the play below:

Travis said “to me that’s a catch, he completed the catch, he looked up at his teammates like heck yeah I caught that and then dropped it on the transfer.” Sir, none of that happened and the ball came loose while the CF was trying to keep his balance pic.twitter.com/QncF0cXwIk

— “Lunatic Fringe Portion of FSU Fan Base” (@EFESHEW) May 24, 2024

Instead of the score being 7-2 in favor of Florida State heading to the bottom of the seventh, Florida State scored four more runs in the inning to take an 11-2 lead over Virginia.

That became incredibly significant later on as Virginia scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. However, instead of the game being tied, Virginia still trailed 11-7.

Florida State went on to earn a 12-7 win to advance to the semifinals of the ACC Baseball Tournament. FSU will face the winner of No. 1 seed North Carolina and No. 8 seed Wake Forest on Saturday.

Link Jarrett praises growth of Jamie Arnold amid ACC Tournament run

While Virginia eventually had some success at the plate on Friday against Florida State, they didn’t have much earlier on against Jamie Arnold.

The ace has come up big for Florida State all season. That continued on Friday in the ACC Baseball Tournament against Virginia.

Arnold got the Seminoles started on the mound with an impressive outing against the Cavaliers. He allowed two runs and had nine strikeouts in six innings.

FSU head coach Link Jarrett joined the ACC Network during Friday’s game to discuss his ace and what has made him special this season.

“Learning himself, learning how to manage that fastball. The velocity has increased. The metrics on the fastball clearly are pretty good. And management of that slider. He’s learning how to land that slider. He’s learning how to expand that and where it needs to go when he has a chance to get some punch outs,” Link Jarrett said of Jamie Arnold.

“The changeup, from time to time he’s used that too. But just exceptional stuff and knowledge of his body and his work. You’re watching a young man mature right before your eyes here on the mound.”