They are the plays that sometimes get lost in the course of a game.

But with his team already trailing 2-0 in the fourth inning, and with a run having just scored on an error in center field and another runner at third with nobody out, Florida State third baseman Logan Lacey made two potentially game-saving plays in a matter of moments Sunday afternoon.

The Seminoles then scored two runs in the fifth, one in the sixth on a Davis Hare solo home run and another in the eighth on (surprise, surprise) a solo homer from Mat Nelson to come from behind to beat Troy, 4-2, and take the weekend series.

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Conor Grady struck out a career-high 13 batters in just five innings of work, and the bullpen didn't allow a run over the final four as FSU improved to 23-16 on the season.

But it was those two plays made by Lacey, when the other dugout had all the momentum, that might have just saved the series for FSU after the teams split the first two games.

First, he made a diving, falling-down, short-hop stop of an errant pick-off throw by Nelson that would have easily allowed the runner to score.

Then, a batter later, he made a diving backhand stop down the line, looked the runner back and then fired a strike to first to keep him at third base. Grady then got out of the jam a batter later with yet another strikeout.

"And it's contagious," FSU head coach Mike Martin Jr. said of Lacey's defensive plays. "It's just something that has to happen. Stick your nose in there. Do what's necessary. Crash into a wall. It's like I told them yesterday, 'Our catcher is about to make a boatload of money. He sacrifices his body every single time he goes out there. And I want to see a little more grit. I want to see a little more what-for, whatever you want to call it.'

"And I saw it today. We did some things I've been wanting to see."

Jackson Greene also made a terrific play behind second to get an out, and Tyler Martin made a couple of impressive stops at first to keep Troy runners off base. Florida State's defense didn't commit a single error on the day.

The pitching, once again, was superb. Other than the two early runs Grady gave up, the Troy hitters barely touched him. He struck out 13 hitters without a walk. For the weekend, FSU's starting pitchers struck out 34 batters without allowing a single walk.

Tyler Ahearn, Chase Haney, Ross Dunn and Jack Anderson then closed it out for the Seminoles on the mound.

The offense didn't put up a ton of runs on Sunday, but it put up enough.

Hare doubled to lead off the fifth and then scored on Nander de Sedas' RBI single. Nelson then delivered a two-out double to left-center to tie the score.

Hare, who also is one of the key arms in the Seminoles' bullpen, then put FSU ahead to stay with a towering home run to left field. It was his first career homer.

Nelson finished the scoring with a bullet down the left-field line that just cleared the fence and stayed fair. It was not his first career home run. It was his nation-leading 20th.

"I like being able to help my team in every way I can," Hare said. "And hitting is another way I can."

The Seminoles now have the next four days off before traveling to South Bend, Ind., to take on Notre Dame in another pivotal ACC series.

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