The No. 14 Florida State baseball team (9-3) rallied from a three-run deficit in the eighth inning and won on Tyler Martin’s walk-off single in the 11th, handing Mercer (11-1) a 9-8 loss Tuesday night.
The 4-hour, 22-minute game ended on Martin’s second hit of the night, scoring pinch runner Tyrell Brewer from third base.
Davis Hare (1-1) earned the win for the Noles, allowing just one hit and one walk, with four strikeouts, over the final 3.1 innings.
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Mercer took an 8-5 lead into the home half of the eighth inning after Colby Thomas hit a two-run home run, his second of the night and the fourth of the evening for the Bears. FSU immediately responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. Logan Lacey scored on a wild pitch, while the tying runs scored on a throwing error from Mercer third baseman Angelo DiSpigna.
Elijah Cabell gave Florida State a 4-2 lead in the third inning with his fifth home run of the season. After the teams traded runs in the fourth, Mercer took its first lead of the night on Brandon Michie’s three-run home run in the seventh inning.
Tyler Ahearn set a career high with five strikeouts out of the FSU bullpen, allowing just an unearned run in 3.2 innings. Seminole starter Bryce Hubbart went 1.2 innings, giving up a solo home run in the second inning.
Florida State opened the scoring with a pair of first inning runs off Mercer starter Josh Farmer. Mat Nelson doubled, Robby Martin followed with an RBI double and Carter Smith singled to score Martin and give FSU a 2-0 lead.
Hubbart struck out three batters in the first inning before allowing a two-out solo home run to Bill Knight in the second. Hubbart was pulled after a walk and Dylan Simmons induced a groundout to maintain FSU’s 2-1 advantage.
After Thomas tied the game with a solo home run to start the third inning off Simmons, Cabell answered in the home half with a two-run home run of his own to give FSU another two-run lead. Cabell has five of FSU’s nine home runs in 2020.
Each team scored a run in the fourth inning – Mercer’s was unearned on an FSU throwing error, while the Noles plated a run on Tyler Martin’s fielder’s choice.
Mercer’s Joe Molettiere (0-1) was replaced in the 11th inning after a leadoff walk to Nico Baldor. Lacey was hit by a Will Bowdoin pitch, Jackson Greene was intentionally walked and Tyler Martin’s walk-off single scored Brewer, who pinch-ran for Baldor.
FSU tallied 11 hits and drew nine walks against the Bears. Tyler Martin, Nelson, Cabell and Lacey each had a pair of hits, while Tyler Martin and Cabell each had two RBI.
For the Bears, leadoff hitter Thomas had three RBI, scored three runs and hit a pair of home runs. RJ Yeager drew four walks and had a hit, while Michie was 3-for-6 with three RBI on his home run.
NOTEWORTHY
- Tuesday’s game was originally scheduled to be played in Macon, Ga., but inclement weather moved the game to Tallahassee. FSU was scheduled to make its first visit to Macon since 1997.
- Starting pitcher Bryce Hubbart made his second start in four days, setting career highs with three strikeouts and 1.2 innings pitched.
- Doubles: Mat Nelson (3), Robby Martin (4), Tyler Martin (5), Logan Lacey (1; first of FSU career).
- Nelson was hit by a pitch in the third and fourth innings, his sixth and seventh of the year. He led FSU in 2019 with 17 HBPs and has been hit by a pitch multiple times in a game five times in his career. FSU entered Tuesday second nationally with 32 HBPs on the season.
- Elijah Cabell hit a two-run home run in the third inning. Cabell has 5 of FSU’s 9 home runs in 2020 and 12 in his career.
- Cabell now has 22 RBI on the season. He started Tuesday ranked third nationally in RBI and is just three shy of his freshman total (25 in 58 games).
- Mercer scored an unearned run in the fourth inning, the first FSU has allowed in that frame this season. FSU is outscoring opponents 27-1 in the fourth inning.
- Tyler Ahearn struck out five batters, a new career high. His previous high was four strikeouts Saturday vs. FAU.
- FSU struck out 15 Mercer batters, the 11th time in 12 games the Noles have reached double-digit strikeouts.
- Pitcher Chase Haney appeared for the ninth time this season. He ranks ninth in FSU history with 104 career appearances.
- FSU extended its winning streak over Mercer to 26 games.
- This is the second season in a row that FSU has beaten a team that entered the game 10-0 or better. In 2019, FSU beat NC State when the Wolfpack were 19-0.
- FSU improved to 1-1 in extra innings. Both games have gone 11 innings (6-5 loss to Texas Tech on February 29).
- FSU’s three-run deficit matched its largest in a win this year; FSU trailed USF (2/18) and FAU (2/29) by three runs in eventual wins.
UP NEXT
No. 14 Florida State opens Atlantic Coast Conference play at No. 12 Duke this weekend.
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