Dramatic win caps off grueling day, sets up showdown for Regional crown

J.C. Flowers sat with bags of ice taped to his shoulder and elbow.

Dylan Busby’s formerly white Florida State uniform was stained by dirt and grass. It was tattered in places, too. The junior third baseman joked that he had lost 20 pounds during the day.

Head coach Mike Martin marveled at the way his team had just competed. After winning an elimination game against Tennessee Tech earlier in the day -- a game delayed more than two hours due to inclement weather -- the Seminoles turned right around and came within a whisker of seeing their season come to an end before rallying for a 10th-inning victory late Sunday night.

The final score was FSU 8, Auburn 7. The win for the ‘Noles means the teams will square off again Monday at 7 p.m. for the NCAA Tallahassee Regional championship.

But on this night, the score was only part of the story.

“I had a blast tonight,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “I got my heart ripped out … but I had a blast.”

Martin called the game “one for the ages.”

“The fans were treated to a heck of a ball game,” FSU’s longtime head coach said. “We all were treated to a heck of a ball game. … You wish you could live with this one for a week. But less than 24 hours from now, we line up to play for the right to go to a super regional.”

* Examining FSU's pitching options for Monday

It’s almost difficult to conceive how they’ll come up with an encore. While Sunday night’s showdown was not cleanly played -- FSU committed three errors and Auburn had two -- it was flush with excitement, drama and intense competition.

There was a monster three-run home run from Busby, which appeared to sail over the scoreboard in left field. There were controversial calls and bang-bang plays all over the infield, including two separate double plays that were botched when shortstops failed to step on second base.