Conner Whittaker has been a valuable part of Florida State's bullpen the last two years. On Saturday, the right-hander made his first career start and delivered an efficient performance in a losing effort.

An encouraging sign but not enough as FSU (12-14) lost for the eighth straight time.

Whittaker (3-2) threw five innings, allowing two earned runs, while striking out five and walking one in the Seminoles' 3-2 loss at Miami. The sophomore is the ninth FSU pitcher to make a start in 26 games.

Left-hander Andrew Armstrong also pitched three innings, allowing an earned run on three hits.

FSU's bats were mostly quiet, accumulating just five hits and the lineup managed very little through the first seven innings. Jaime Ferrer had a single to lead off the second inning to extend his hitting streak to 17 games.

In the eighth, the Seminoles began to come back from a 3-0 deficit. Colton Vincent had an RBI single in the eighth, scoring Titan Kimaka, who led off the inning with a double.

James Tibbs followed with a two-out home run to left-center field in the ninth. It was Tibbs' ninth home run of the season and 19th of his FSU career.

Miami's Gage Ziehl (4-3) pitched 7.2 innings, striking out nine and walking one while giving up just one earned run.

FSU will play the finale on Sunday at 2 p.m. (ESPNU). A starting pitcher has not been announced.