FSU baseball rallies to sweep Notre Dame, improve to 18-0
This Florida State baseball team hasn't had to play from behind very often so far this season.
That's just the situation the Seminoles found themselves in Sunday afternoon as they looked to finish off a sweep of Notre Dame.
Consider the first-such real test of FSU's adversity this season another in a long line of successes for this team. FSU erased an early 3-1 deficit, roaring back for a 4-3 win Sunday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium to stay unbeaten.
The Seminoles improved to 18-0 with the win, extending the second-longest undefeated streak to start a season in program history. FSU also finished off a 3-0 weekend to open ACC play.
"Clearly a very well-played game..." FSU head coach Link Jarrett said after the win. "You can feel the energy in the locker room and when they come out here."
FSU got back into the game on a pair of home runs from Cam Smith and Jaime Ferrer. Smith led off the FSU third with a solo shot, his sixth of the year, to cut ND's 2-0 lead in half.
Ferrer's seventh homer of the season was a mammoth two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fifth that leveled the game at three.
The deciding run for FSU came on a pair of consecutive Notre Dame errors in the sixth inning. Daniel Cantu singled off pitcher Ricky Reeth and advanced all the way to third on a throwing error on the throw to first base.
Cantu then came in to score the very next at-bat on an error by ND third baseman Simon Baumgardt on a slow bouncer his way.
"He hit that ball and it kind of bounced out of Reeth's glove and once he found it, because Cantu was running hard, it pressed the play a little bit," Jarrett said of the play in which Cantu reached. "You just don't know how these games are going to evolve, what gives you the opportunity to score a key run. That did it. Kudos to him."
The Irish finished with these two errors in Sunday's loss and three over the weekend series. By contrast, FSU committed no errors Sunday despite the pitching staff recording just four strikeouts, meaning the FSU defense recorded 23 outs in the field on balls in play.
"The defense was the difference today. Our defense was sharp, all phases of it," Outfield defense was really good, Cam a couple nice plays, (Alex) Lodise some beautiful plays..." Jarrett said. "You have to do that if you're going to beat a talented team when you're not having a lot of success offensively."
In four games this week against Notre Dame and at Florida, FSU committed no errors. That should significantly boost FSU's fielding percentage, which entered the week already pretty high at .980.
Conner Whittaker, making his first weekend start of the season after three weeks as FSU's midweek starting pitcher, didn't seem to miss a step despite this being the first game action in almost two full weeks.
Whittaker threw a season-high 6.2 innings vs. the Irish, allowing three runs on four hits. Each of the four hits were of the extra-base variety as Notre Dame hit back-to-back homers off him to lead off the third inning and also had a pair of doubles to left field.
After the back-to-back homers, Whittaker retired 11 of the final 16 batters he faced, allowing just one hit over the final 3.2 innings of his outing.
"I just know what I can do and I've got to keep executing pitches. It's just two bad pitches that they hit over," Whittaker said after his outing. "You clearly saw our defense today. I get to pitch with that behind me. I just kept attacking, made all my pitches."
Carson Dorsey relieved Whittaker in the seventh inning and closed out the game with 2.1 scoreless innings for his first save of the season.
Up Next
FSU stays at home this upcoming midweek for a Tuesday game vs. Stetson (5 p.m.) before hitting the road for a weekend series at Clemson which starts Friday night.
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