Well, maybe a new streak has begun.
After losing to their arch rivals 11 straight times, the Florida State Seminoles -- thanks to dominant pitching and some timely hitting on Tuesday night -- have now beaten the Florida Gators two times in a row.
Robby Martin blasted two home runs and freshman right-hander Carson Montgomery teamed up with three relievers to allow just two earned runs and four hits while striking out 16 Gators in a 10-2 win at Dick Howser Stadium.
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It's the second straight victory in the rivalry for head coach Mike Martin Jr. and the Seminoles, who beat Florida 2-0 last year in Gainesville before the season was cut short due to COVID-19. It's also another win for a team that has now won 5 of 7 against ranked teams since being swept at home by Pitt to start the ACC season.
"Sure, they're our rival," Martin Jr. said. "And we want to whip theirs and they want to whip ours. But we just weren't playing good baseball all the way around. ... Again, we need Ws, we need RPI. We need a lot of things."
They need the offense to keep doing what it's done the last two games.
After putting up 14 runs in a rubber game at Virginia Tech on Sunday afternoon, the Seminoles put up seven in the first two innings against the Gators. Martin hit a three-run homer in the first, and the Seminoles strung together five hits in the second, including doubles by Nander de Sedas, Logan Lacey and Wyatt Crowell as FSU raced out to a 7-0 lead.
Martin, who was struggling mightily to start the season, then hit another mammoth home run in the bottom of the sixth to put the game out of reach. The junior has now delivered three homers and 10 RBIs in the last two games.
"He never deviated from his swing, he just hadn't been able to put it all together," Martin Jr. said. "Until now. It's sure good to see."
Said Robby Martin: "I've been seeing the ball great the last couple of games. ... And I just went with what I've been doing my past three years here. And it's coming together. I'm seeing the ball a lot better now."
The visiting Gators (13-5) certainly weren't seeing the ball great on Tuesday night. Especially against Montgomery, who allowed no hits through the first four innings before finally running into trouble in the fifth.
He wound up allowing two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, but overall it was an impressive outing for a freshman who hadn't pitched in 17 days because FSU's last two midweek games had been postponed.
"He's such a neat kid," Martin Jr. said. "He's a sponge. A great teammate. He's got a chance to be really, really special. I didn't think he had his best stuff ... but he made pitches when he needed to, and he's a difference-maker."
"When he's on, he's got some of the best stuff in college baseball," Robby Martin said of Montgomery. "So, I was excited to see him go out there and do that and get back to doing what he does."
Senior reliever Chase Haney got a pivotal final out in the fifth inning after the Gators had cut the lead to 7-2, and Hunter Perdue and Davis Hare combined for three scoreless innings to close out the game. Perdue struck out three in two innings, and Hare struck out two in his one inning of work.
The Seminoles (7-6) now head south to play Miami in a three-game series starting on Friday night.
