Clark column: A wild and wonderful weekend for FSU sports
It was about as good a Saturday as a Florida State fan could possibly ask for.
You know, until football season comes around anyway.
The No. 13 FSU baseball team swept a doubleheader. (Against an opponent that looks completely overwhelmed and overmatched, but hey, a sweep is a sweep.) And the Seminoles are up to 36 wins on the season.
The women's tennis team knocked off rival Florida, 4-3, in Gainesville to advance to just the second Sweet 16 in program history. And you best believe it was "sweet," because it came at the expense of the Gators.
The men's track and field team won its 12th ACC outdoor championship, yet another sign that Bob Braman's program might have its footing back under it after a few subpar years.
And then there was the softball team.
If you weren't around a computer monitor, smart phone or television yesterday, if you decided to do something crazy like go outside (What's up, summer? Didn't realize you'd be kicking the door down after such a mild spring!), then you missed one of the most thrilling -- or agonizing, depending on your point of view -- finishes in ACC Championship history.
Florida State, which had won four consecutive ACC titles coming into this week, trailed 4-1 in the last inning.
With two outs, the Seminoles still trailed 4-2. Then with two runners on base, sophomore Anna Shelnutt came to the plate and did this ...
When watching this clip Saturday afternoon, the first thing I noticed was the utter devastation of the Pitt leftfielder.
Her team was not only one out away from the first ACC title in program history, but it was also just one out away from automatically qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Pitt has only been one other time. Instead, the Panthers could very well be left out of the field altogether (the ACC, strangely, is not very good in softball).
So that devastation is apparent all over that video. And it's even more poignant when juxtaposed with the complete exultation from the other dugout.
And what makes sports really great is that it was Shelnutt, who allowed two passed balls in the Panthers' four-run sixth inning, coming up with the redemptive swing in the bottom of the seventh.
Storybook stuff. Well, I mean, sort of. Florida State wins this thing every year. So it wasn't like a story of a David knocking off Goliath. It was more like Goliath ripping David's heart out and throwing it into the river.
But it was cool to see. And it was a great win for Florida State athletics. On a day that had quite a few.
One more thing before I wrap this up. I've had strep throat this week, so that's been a fun experience to deal with. I didn't realize the uvula (the little hangy thing in the back of your throat) could swell to the size of a watermelon. But hey, the body sure does like to surprise us, doesn't it?
Even in my sickly state, though, I've been paying attention the FSU baseball team. I was in Clemson last weekend when Mike Martin broke the record (I wonder if somebody wearing orange infected me with strep? Or if it was all those doorknobs I kept licking? Who can know?).
And while I haven't watched many innings of the Mount St. Mary's series, I do know this: Florida State would crush fools if it played in the Northeast Conference. Cal Raleigh might hit .500 with 40 bombs.
As it turns out, though, FSU does not play in that conference. It plays in the ACC. The competition is just a wee bit stiffer.
And with a 36-16 record (14-12 in conference) heading into today's finale against the Mountaineers, the Seminoles are gearing up for yet another NCAA Tournament berth. The question is: Where will they be seeded?
The answer is: There's still baseball left to play, man. So how could we know that right now?
The Seminoles are currently No. 10 in the latest RPI. They're ahead of Clemson and Duke, two teams that beat FSU twice this year. But, still, for now they're 10th. And they conclude the regular season with a three-game homestand against N.C. State, which is currently No. 17 in the RPI.
If Florida State is going to get a Top 8 national seed, it's absolutely imperative it takes two of three from the Wolfpack. Even a sweep wouldn't guarantee anything, but it would definitely have the Seminoles in the conversation. A series loss and there's virtually no chance -- no matter how FSU does in the ACC Tournament.
All things considered, including losing ace Tyler Holton four innings into the season, it's been another ho-hum, closing-in-on-40-wins, NCAA-tournament kind of year for Martin's club. What else is new?
On Saturday, though, they were just one of many Florida State teams basking in victory. And one got to bask in an all-time walk-off win.
Anywho. That's it from Streppy.
I appreciate you guys reading.
Happy Mother's Day.
Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @Corey_Clark on Twitter.
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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council