FSU baseball uses the long ball to clinch series at No. 6 Duke

Things looked headed for disaster for the Florida State baseball team.

John Abraham changed the ending this time.

The FSU reliever who took a walk-off loss in last weekend's rubber match at Wake Forest got thrown into the fire again Saturday at No. 6 Duke.

He was brought in with two men in scoring position, one out and FSU clinging to a one-run lead.

Abraham got some sweet redemption this time, retiring both batters he faced to escape the jam and help No. 10 FSU (34-8, 13-7 in ACC) escape with a 7-6 series-clinching win over the No. 6 Blue Devils (29-14, 13-10) at Jack Coombs Field in Durham, N.C.

The thrilling finish by Abraham -- his first career save -- helped cover up what was nearly another bullpen collapse for the Seminoles, who led 7-2 heading to the eighth inning before Duke plated three runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to cut the deficit to one run.

However, FSU's strong offensive start, which was buoyed by the long ball being the catalyst for the second straight day, proved to be enough.

After three of FSU's four runs came on a home run in Friday's win at No. 6 Duke, the Seminoles plated their first five runs Saturday on a trio of home runs.

Solo homers from freshman infielder Cal Fisher (his fourth of the season) and Jaime Ferrer (his second in as many days and 14th of the season) gave FSU an early 2-0 lead.

When that lead was erased by a two-run Duke home run, designated hitter Marco Dinges gave the Seminoles the lead right back with a two-out, three-run homer the other way to right field.

It was Dinges' 11th homer of the season and FSU's 81st, surging the Seminoles past Virginia Tech for the ACC lead.

The Seminoles hit three runs and scored five runs, all earned, off Duke starting pitcher Kyle Johnson, who entered the day with a 1.88 ERA and two home runs allowed in 28.2 innings.

For the second straight week, FSU's Saturday starting pitcher Carson Dorsey was up to the task against a talented lineup on the road. While Duke put nine runners on base against him (seven hits, one walk, one hit-by-pitch) and had three extra-base hits off Dorsey, he almost entirely shut down them in these adverse situations.

Across his six innings of work, Dorsey held Duke to a .143 batting average (2 for 14) with runners on base. He struck out nine batters as well, with the only damage Duke did off him coming in the form of a two-run home run by Devin Obee.

In four starts since entering the weekend rotation, Dorsey has posted a 3.54 ERA with eight runs allowed over 20.2 innings, striking out 26 batters while walking just four.

Although FSU led 7-2 when Dorsey left the game, the final innings were not without their drama. The Blue Devils loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the eighth and plated three runs in the situation. But Connor Hults, who got the save in Friday's win, got a groundout to third to get out of the inning when Duke had the go-ahead run at the plate.

Andrew Armstrong allowed a leadoff homer in the ninth and then the next two batters reached base against him as well. Abraham's stellar save prevented the senior reliever from taking his first loss of the season, preserving his 5-0 record.

A series win is already good enough for FSU, but the Seminoles will go for the sweep of the Blue Devils Sunday afternoon. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

Both teams have not yet announced who will be the starting pitcher for the series finale of the top-10 matchup.