Bullpen falters as Florida State blows late lead to No. 3 Gators at home
For the first half of the game on Tuesday night, it looked like the Florida State baseball team was going to pick up its biggest win of the season.
Instead, a leaky bullpen turned into an outright flood, giving up runs in five consecutive innings, and the No. 3 Florida Gators stormed back from a 5-1 deficit for a 9-5 win over the reeling Seminoles in front of a sold-out crowd at Dick Howser Stadium.
Florida State freshman starter Ben Barrett went four innings and allowed just a single run, in the fourth inning, while striking out two and walking none. He was, by far, the most effective pitcher of the night for the Seminoles. And he left with a 5-1 lead after four.
Then, the Gators scored a single run in the fifth off reliever Doug Kirkland, single runs in the sixth and seventh off reliever Conner Whittaker, and then five more in the eighth off the combination of freshman Jamie Arnold and Friday night starter Jackson Baumeister.
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Arnold gave up two hits and walked a batter — all with two strikes — and was pulled for Baumeister, who proceeded to give up four hits to the five hitters he faced. By the time the dust had settled and the inning was finally over, the Gators (19-4) had scored five runs on six hits and had a 9-5 lead. And the game was, for all intents and purposes, over.
Because the Florida bullpen was a whole lot more reliable and effective.
The Seminoles scored four runs off Florida starter Tyler Nesbitt — with the big blow being a Jaime Ferrer three-run double in the bottom of the fourth — and Gator reliever Cade Fisher was also charged with a run in the fourth.
And that was a wrap for the Florida State offense.
The Seminoles managed just three hits and no runs the rest of the way as they dropped their third straight game and sixth of their last seven. The last three UF relievers — Nick Ficarrotta, Philip Abner and Brandon Neely — struck out 10 in 5 1/3 innings of work.
Florida State (12-9) now travels to Charlottesville, Va., for a weekend series with the No. 8 Cavaliers, who are 18-2 on the season.
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