Florida State baseball sweeps The Citadel in Saturday doubleheader

The Florida State Seminoles clinched the series against The Citadel with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday. It was a sluggish offensive day for both teams, but the Seminole pitching was outstanding. In total, FSU arms posted a combined line of 19 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 17 K, 3 BB.

Game 1

After a sloppy bullpen game Wednesday, Wes Mendes and John Abraham didn’t mess around on the mound in the opener of the weekend series.

The top starter and reliever combined to allow two runs (one earned) on three hits in the win. Mendes (3-0 had his season-opening shutout streak snapped at 14 1/3 innings, but still managed to battle through his third straight third start.

He became the first FSU starter to throw six innings this season, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits. Three of nine leadoff batters got on against him but The Citadel was 0-for-6 with two outs, 1-for-6 with runners on and 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position to largely restrict the Bulldogs’ scoring.

Abraham recorded a three-inning save — his first of the season — setting down all nine batters he faced on 29 pitches, including three strikeouts.

It turned out that was badly needed as the offense got off to a slow start, trailing 2-0 in the top of the fifth before finally awakening.

After the Bulldogs jumped ahead on an error by Noah Sheffield in right and an RBI single from Matthew Lively, the Seminoles cut that deficit in half with an RBI groundout from Eli Putnam in the bottom of the fifth.

Florida State then exploded for four runs in the sixth after loading the bases with no outs. Kelvyn Paulino Jr. tied the game on a sacrifice fly, Gabe Fraser put the Seminoles ahead for the first time with a two-run single and Putnam capped off the inning with an RBI single.

In the Davidson transfer’s first start at FSU, Putnam had his first two RBIs and first two hits as a Seminole. Freshman outfielder John Stuetzer also was thrown into the lineup over Chase Williams, delivering an insurance run on an RBI single in the eighth.

Putnam was the only Seminole with multiple hits. The offense struck out nine times but also worked six walks, finally getting to Citadel starter Will Holmes (1-2), who threw 5 2/3 innings and was tagged for five unearned runs.

Game 2

Florida State and The Citadel exchanged runs early before locking into a pitching duel in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader. The bats struggled but the pitching was excellent as the Seminoles were able to pull off the walk-off extra inning win to take the series.

After starting the season with a stomach bug, FSU’s Trey Beard was able to make his first start of the season (Beard pitched 2.1 innings in relief last week against Nebraska). His strong performance in his starting debut for Florida State was a necessity for the Seminoles as the offense was shut down by The Citadel. Beard struck out six over five innings, while allowing just one unearned run. On the other side of the diamond, The Citadel’s Bryce Coulter tossed eight innings, allowing just one unearned run, fanning four Seminoles.

FSU and The Citadel exchanged runs early in similar fashions. Gabe Fraser opened the second inning with a single before eventually reaching home on a two-out Nathan Cmeyla infield single. The roller fielded by the pitcher was thrown away by Coulter and Fraser was able to give FSU the early 1-0 lead.

The Seminoles returned the favor to The Citadel next inning with a one-out walk and errant throw on a sacrifice bunt. The throw by Beard allowed the runner to come all the way home from first base. FSU was able to prevent any further damage and keep the game knotted at one. From there, FSU and the Citadel exchanged zeroes for the next six innings. The Seminole bullpen was near perfect as Cade O’Leary and Kevin Mebil combined for five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.

Florida State’s offense finally started to wake up after The Citadel turned to their pen to start the ninth. The Seminoles put two on in that frame but were unable to score but the tenth was a different story. Nathan Cmeyla started the inning with a single. He was replaced by Chase Williams who stole second. John Stuetzer fanned before Brayden Dowd walked. Noah Sheffield loaded the bases on a comebacker to the pitcher that was booted. With the bases loaded and one out, Myles Bailey stepped to the plate.

The hero of FSU continued his lore, this time with a screaming grounder to second. The Citadel’s second baseman made a great dive to field the play, but his throw home was short and could not be handled by the catcher. Williams slid in home to give FSU the 2-1 victory and the series win over the Citadel.

The Seminoles will look for the series sweep tomorrow at 1 PM.