After everything they've been through during the first two months of this season, the Florida State Seminoles didn't need any additional motivation Saturday afternoon.
They've suffered embarrassing losses. They've been blown out by rivals. They've been shut out five times, and they've plummeted from a top-10 national ranking to the land of the unranked.
So the last thing they needed was to be dunked on in their own stadium.
Yet that's what happened when Clemson leadoff batter Sam Hall blasted a solo home run on the second pitch of Saturday's game.
After the ball sailed over the left-field fence, Hall crossed home plate and took part in a choreographed celebration with the rest of his teammates. The Tigers gathered together outside of the visiting dugout while one player held up a miniature basketball hoop (complete with backboard). Hall leaped into the air, caught a small basketball from another teammate and dunked it in the hoop while his teammates celebrated.
The Tigers did the same thing last weekend in a home series against Louisville.
It didn't play as well on the road.
Florida State's fans jeered. The Seminoles' players simmered.
"They came out with the little basketball goal," FSU junior outfielder J.C. Flowers said. "I was just like, 'OK, that's how it's going to be?' And kinda took off from there."
Did it ever.
Flowers and starting pitcher CJ Van Eyk both emphatically said the Seminoles drew additional energy from the Tigers' theatrics. And they responded with their most complete performance against a quality opponent all season.
Van Eyk delivered a stellar eight-inning start, allowing just four hits and two runs. And the Seminoles' offense pounded out 14 hits -- six for extra bases -- en route to a 16-2 victory. It was the Seminoles' largest margin of victory in a game against the Tigers since 1997.
But there were more impressive aspects of Saturday's win than just the final score.
For a team that has struggled when faced with adversity this season, the 'Noles showed impressive resilience in crucial situations. Right after Hall's solo homer in the first, Clemson's next batter, Logan Davidson, laced a single off the wall in right field. But when Davidson tried to stretch his hit into a double, FSU freshman Alec Sanchez played the carom perfectly and then gunned Davidson down at second base.
Then in the fourth inning, Van Eyk found himself in trouble after hitting one batter with a pitch and then seeing the next batter reach base on a throwing error by first baseman Nico Baldor. But with runners on first and third and one out, the sophomore right-hander struck out the next hitter and then coaxed a routine ground ball to end the threat.
It was in the bottom half of that inning that the Seminoles' bats came to life.
First, designated hitter Cooper Swanson blasted a solo home run. Then Flowers followed that up with a solo shot of his own. One inning later, Flowers delivered a three-run homer. And in the sixth, shortstop Mike Salvatore added another solo blast to help blow the game open.
After all four of those homers, FSU's players reminded Clemson that they didn't appreciate the game-opening celebration. Although they didn't have any props, the Seminoles mimicked the Tigers' basketball routine each time -- much to the delight of the Dick Howser Stadium crowd.
"It was huge having that energy in the dugout," Van Eyk said.
That "energy" is one of several things that have been elusive for the 2019 Seminoles, but has seemingly returned this weekend.
At the top of that list is starting pitching. In their first eight weekends of this season, neither staff ace Drew Parrish nor No. 2 starter Van Eyk had pitched past the sixth inning. Both threw eight full innings against Clemson.
Then there is the offense. In the six games before this series, Florida State suffered five losses and scored a grand total of three runs in those five defeats.
In two games against the 16th-ranked Tigers, the Seminoles have scored 22 runs.
"I feel like we've been in kind of a rut for a little bit," Flowers said. "The performance we had today just kind of shows that we can overcome that."
There can be no overstating how important these wins could end up being for the Seminoles' postseason chances. Coming into this weekend, FSU's RPI was barely in the top 100 nationally. Two wins later, the Seminoles have leaped 22 spots and now check in at No. 75, according to WarrenNolan.com.
The question now is this: Will the real Florida State baseball team please stand up?
"We can't fall in love with ourselves," Seminoles coach Mike Martin said. "There's a lot of baseball left to be played."
Are these Seminoles the ones who got fired up when Clemson broke out its elaborate home run celebration? Or are they the ones who seemed to sleepwalk through a number of lopsided losses over the last month?
Is this FSU squad the one that started out as an early favorite to reach the College World Series and has looked dominant this weekend? Or is it the one who struggled for several weeks in the field, at the plate and on the mound?
I honestly have no idea. And I'm not so sure the Seminoles know either.
When I asked Martin on Saturday if he was confident that his players would be able to stay grounded and focused after the two big wins against Clemson, the legendary head coach hesitated before answering.
"I hope so," Martin said. "I can't look you dead in the eye and say, 'This is definitely what we need.' What we need is to go out and understand every single game we play is huge. We've taken that approach the last two days. Let's hope that we can take that approach tomorrow."
The Seminoles desperately need to.
As important as it was for FSU to win this series, a sweep would be even better. With a 21-13 record and 20 regular-season games remaining, the 'Noles need every win they can get. Quality ACC wins are doubly important.
Martin did say that he's seen improved leadership within the team in recent days. And there's no denying that the hitting and pitching have been better.
Now comes the hard part.
It's one thing to respond when your back is against the wall, everyone is doubting you, and you feel like you've been disrespected in your own stadium. It's another thing to maintain that energy and focus for several games -- let alone weeks -- in a row.
All we've seen for certain during the first two games of this series is that the Seminoles are as talented as many of us thought when the season started.
What we'll find out over the next four weeks is whether they also possess the intangibles that seemed to be lacking for so long.
Contact managing editor Ira Schoffel at ira@warchant.com and follow @IraSchoffel on Twitter.
------------
Discuss this story with other FSU fans on our Seminole Baseball Message Board.
