Mike Martin tipped his cap to the crowd. He did an on-field interview with ESPN. He gathered his players by the third-base line and congratulated them on one of the more stunning weekends in Florida State baseball history.
Then, after exchanging pleasantries with his wife, Carol, he headed toward the postgame press conference to discuss the Seminoles' remarkable 10-1 win over host Georgia on Sunday night.
"Boy, I'm on Cloud Nine," Martin told me as he walked slowly off the field that his team had used as its personal launching pad for three days. "I can't tell you how excited I am."
As he made his way into the club suite area that UGA has built right behind home plate, some Bulldog fans leaned over him and congratulated him on the win.
Martin thanked them and told them how much he appreciated their support for college baseball and the University of Georgia program.
A young fan asked him if he was ready to retire.
"In about three more weeks," Martin said with a smile, before making his way underneath the stadium to wait for the press conference to begin.
It was a scene that seemed totally improbable just a few weeks ago. Heck, just a few days ago.
Entering this postseason, I couldn't conceive of how this Florida State team would get to the Super Regionals. I wasn't even sure the Seminoles would make the NCAA Tournament at all, but even if they did, I couldn't have imagined this.
Nobody could.
It wasn't all that long ago that this same Florida State team lost to Jacksonville, 3-2, and was no-hit by Stetson on consecutive days.
There seemed to be holes everywhere in the lineup, and the pitching and fielding weren't exactly MLB caliber either. It was unlike any season of Martin's career. Because there was a very real chance his last year as the FSU head coach would be the only one that didn't end in an NCAA Tournament berth.
But the Seminoles were able to turn out of a tailspin in the middle of the season, qualify for the postseason (barely), and then somehow morph into the '98 Yankees for a magical three-day stretch in Athens.
Forty-five hits. Thirty-five runs. And they outscored the No. 4 national seed Bulldogs, 22-4, in two games.
Truly unbelievable.
Even more amazing, FSU was able to score 10 runs on Sunday night without its new best player, Tim Becker, even hitting a home run. Crazy stuff, folks!
"This one feels great," longtime assistant coach Mike Martin Jr. said on the field after the game.
Not just because it extended his dad's career for at least one more weekend.
There has never been a Florida State team as maligned as this one. They lost 13 of 20 games during one stretch. They were one of the last four teams selected for the NCAA Tournament. They were a 3 seed for the first time in Martin's career. And columnists and talk-show hosts (like the bald guy writing this) said there didn't seem to be any real chance this team could do any damage in the postseason.
And now they're two wins away from Omaha.
"They've been beat up pretty bad," Martin Jr. said of the 2019 'Noles. "But here comes Becker. And next thing you know, guys are feeling good about themselves. Carter (Smith) is playing well for us. And guys started buying in and believing. And sometimes that happens early, and sometimes that happens late.
"But you can get rolling, and next thing you know you feel like you can beat anybody."
Florida State certainly feels that way now after making Foley Field look like a T-ball park for three days.
The offense was sensational. And, again, it seemed to come completely out of nowhere. It's not like Florida State was bad offensively in 2019, but it wasn't anywhere close to this.
But Smith and Becker at the bottom of the lineup were more productive than anyone could have imagined. Regional MVP Mike Salvatore was terrific at the top, and Reese Albert and Drew Mendoza weren't too shabby, either. All of the sudden, a team that was shut out eight times during the regular season looked like the 2008 Buster Posey Seminoles.
Against some elite pitchers in red and black.
"I was just telling [the players]," Martin Jr. said. "I've been doing this for 22 years. There has never been a more satisfying moment than this right here. Again, they got beat up. They got people picking on them. They got teams taking it easy on them and running their mouths, people saying you shouldn't have been in [the tournament] to begin with.
"And it was kind of like us against the world. You know, 'Screw you. We're here. We're Florida State. Don't you forget it.'"
I don't think Martin Jr. was specifically saying "screw you" to me, but if he was, I probably deserved it. Because I, like most of you, had zero confidence in this team to get out of the regional. Much less do it in utterly dominating fashion.
I honestly came to Athens this weekend expecting to write about Mike Martin's final game as the FSU head coach. Instead, I watched his team destroy a very good baseball team. Twice. On its home field.
To not only extend his career, but to advance to the Super Regionals for the 17th time in 21 years.
"To say I am happy is an understatement," Martin said.
And make no mistake: The Seminoles will be the underdogs again this weekend at LSU. No one will be expecting them to make it to the 2019 College World Series.
But guess what? They're still playing. And 11 is still coaching. And as this past weekend in Athens proved, anything is possible in college baseball.
So let's all just sit back and see how long -- maybe another three weeks? -- his last ride actually lasts.
Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @corey_clark on twitter.
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