Box Score Tallahassee, Fla. – In their fourth-straight game against a nationally-ranked opponent, the Wildcats fell to #8 FSU, 17-9, Wednesday night in Tallahassee.
How It Happened
FSU (11-5, 2-1 ACC) grabbed the first run of the night in the second inning when a runner scored from third on a pitch to the backstop. The Seminoles added to that lead with a three-run homer an inning later to go up, 4-0.
The Wildcats (5-11, 0-0 SWAC) got on the board with a pair of hits in the fourth.
Malik Stephens got things started with a double. He advanced to third on a wild pitch, and came around to score on a single by
Matthew Garcia. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded,
Brian Perez sent a double-play ball up the middle that instead turned into an FSU throwing error, scoring Garcia and
Christopher Patterson to cut the Seminole lead to 4-3.
FSU turned things around quickly in the bottom half of the fourth. A single and an error plated two for the Seminoles, and a double added two more as FSU took an 8-3 lead.
The Wildcats loaded the bases an inning later with no outs. A passed ball allowed
Franki Febles to take home. A few pitches later, Patterson set a sacrifice fly into shallow center, scoring
Colton Olasin.
The back and forth continued in the bottom of the sixth as FSU tacked on two runs on a bouncing ball through the left side of the infield to go up, 10-5. A seven run seventh put the Seminoles up, 17-5.
In the top of the ninth,
Lake Fisher, pinch hitting for
Irvin Escobar, crushed a ball over the right field wall – a three run shot that made it 17-8.
Brandyn Gatenby added one more Wildcat run with a sacrifice fly.
Marcos Gamboa took the loss for B-CU. He went 2.2 innings, allowed four earned runs, walked four, and struck out three.
"We've got to eliminate the mistakes and the walks," Wildcats head coach
Jonathan Hernandez said after the game. "When you look at the arms that they threw today, to put up nine runs – you feel pretty good about yourself.
"For us, it's a way to compete against the nation's best and see how we stack up," Hernandez continued. "We'll continue to build, continue to grow, continue to learn, and we'll be ready for Jackson State."
After their fourth straight date with a nationally-ranked opponent (plus another challenge in UCF), the Wildcats are no doubt battle tested. As SWAC play gets underway this weekend, Hernandez is comfortable with the state of his squad.
"We're more than ready," Hernandez said. "The confidence with these guys, even when the results aren't what we want – we just keep building momentum – we can compete with the nation's best. I'm looking forward to this weekend."
Notes
- The Wildcats scored nine runs on five hits in the game.
- B-CU pitchers combined to strike out 11 Seminoles – Gamboa, Dale Michaud, and Gabriel White struck out three each.
- Fisher's homer was B-CU's fifth of the season.
Up Next
The grueling finish to non-conference play has come and gone for B-CU. The Wildcats now prepare for SWAC conference play as Jackson State visits "The Jack" for the first conference series of the season. The Tigers and Wildcats are set for three noon starts this weekend, beginning Friday, March 18.
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--#HailWildcats--
