Tallahassee, FL. – Opening weekend is officially in the books, and Florida State baseball (2-0) is off to a strong start. The No. 16 Seminoles took both games from James Madison (0-2) at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium before Sunday’s series finale was cancelled due to weather. Despite not getting the full three-game set, FSU showed enough in the two games they did play to leave fans excited about what this team can do in 2026.
Friday night’s opener was a pitchers’ duel that saw FSU’s arms shut down the Dukes’ offense. Starter Wes Mendes set the tone early, going five scoreless innings while striking out seven and allowing just four hits and one walk. It was the kind of efficient start that FSU needed to see from Mendes after his solid sophomore campaign.
John Abraham came in relief and provided 1.2 innings, allowing JMU’s only run on a wild pitch in the sixth inning. Brodie Purcell slammed the door with 2.1 innings of one-hit ball, striking out four to earn the save. The bullpen combined to allow just three hits over 4.0 innings, which is exactly what you want to see early in the season.
Offensively, FSU got contributions from multiple spots in the lineup. Myles Bailey wasted no time getting things started with a 425-foot solo home run to right field on his very first pitch of the 2026 season, giving the Noles an early 1-0 lead. Brody DeLamielleure added a solo shot of his own in the second inning to extend the lead to 2-0. Those were the only two runs FSU would need, but they weren’t done scoring.
The eighth inning is where FSU put the game away. Cal Fisher and Hunter Carns drew back-to-back walks to start the frame, and Chase Williams laid down a perfect bunt to load the bases. After DeLamielleure struck out, and a balk brought in a run, Noah Sheffield came through as a pinch hitter with a two-RBI single up the middle to make it 5-1. Sheffield’s hit broke the game open, leading to a comfortable win.
Cal Fisher had a solid night at the plate, going 0-for-2 but drawing two walks and scoring a run. The Seminoles’ lineup showed patience at the plat,e drawing five walks as a team and working counts effectively, which forced JMU to use 156 pitches across four pitchers. That kind of discipline will serve them well against better pitching in ACC play.
Saturday’s game was the complete opposite of Friday’s pitching duel. FSU’s offense came alive in a major way, putting up 16 runs on 17 hits in a run-rule shortened seven-inning victory. Four different Seminoles recorded multi-hit games, and the Noles scored in five of the six and a half innings.
Brayden Dowd had the performance of the afternoon, going 3-for-3 with a double, a three-run home run, five runs scored, three RBIs, and two walks. Dowd reached base in all five plate appearances. His three-run bomb in the second inning gave FSU a 5-3 lead they would never relinquish. It was a nice bounce back after going 0-for-4 with only a walk in the first game.
Noah Sheffield also had a monster day, going 3-for-3 with a double and four runs scored before being lifted for a pinch hitter. Cal Fisher was 4-for-5 with a double, five RBIs, and a stolen base. Myles Bailey added two hits, two runs, and two RBIs while drawing two walks. When four guys combine to go 12-for-14, you’re going to score some runs.
The scoring came in waves. After JMU took a brief 3-2 lead in the second inning, FSU answered with four runs in the bottom half to go up 6-3. They added two more in the fourth to make it 8-3, four in the fifth to extend it to 12-5, and four more in the sixth to invoke the mercy rule at 16-5.
Brody DeLamielleure hit his second home run of the weekend, a solo shot in the fifth inning. The redshirt sophomore picked up right where he left off last season and looks set to provide some power in the middle of this lineup.
On the mound, FSU’s highly anticipated Saturday starter, Trey Beard, was a scratch, so Bryson Moore moved up from Sunday to Saturday. Moore struggled early, lasting just 1.2 innings while allowing three runs on four hits and walking two. However, Cade O’Leary came in relief and earned the win with 2.1 solid innings, allowing two runs while striking out four. Cooper Whited and Cole Stokes combined for three scoreless innings to close it out, with Whited striking out three in two innings of work.
My main question coming out of this series is whether Bryson Moore’s performance was a fluke. It was only one game, and his first in garnet and gold, but things went south in a hurry. Moore will be anchoring the starting weekend rotation on Sundays, so FSU needs him to help fill the big shoes left behind by Jamie Arnold and Joey Volini.
The good news is that O’Leary, Whited, and Stokes all looked sharp on Saturday, and when you combine them with Mendes, Abraham, and Purcell from Friday, FSU has seven arms they feel comfortable with and we have yet to see Trey Beard and Gabe Nard, who are two arms that I’m excited to see this season. That’s going to be critical in a long season, especially when ACC play starts.
Other than not getting in the third game, this was exactly the kind of opening weekend FSU needed. They showed they can win low-scoring pitchers’ duels and high-scoring slugfests. The starting pitching was strong in game one, the offense exploded in game two, and the bullpen was solid in both games. That’s a complete team performance. Yes, some minor things need to be cleaned up, but it’s opening weekend, and that is why you play these types of series in non-conference play. Just ask Florida how their opening weekend went…
The offensive firepower is real. FSU put up 21 runs on 25 hits over two games while drawing 12 walks. Dowd, Fisher, Bailey, and DeLamielleure all had productive weekends, and getting contributions from Sheffield and Carns further down the lineup is huge. When you can score from multiple spots in the order, it makes you much harder to pitch to.
The pitching staff showed promise as well. Mendes looked like you wanted him to as the Friday starter in game one, and the bullpen combined to allow just three earned runs over 9.1 innings across both games. Abraham, Purcell, O’Leary, Whited, and Stokes all gave Link Jarrett quality innings when called upon.
It’s unfortunate that Sunday’s game got cancelled due to weather, as FSU would have loved to get another look at the pitching staff and give some bench guys playing time. However, a 2-0 start with a series sweep is nothing to complain about. The Noles have shown they can compete with quality opponents early, and that’s all you can ask for in mid-February when plenty of other programs found themselves in the loss column on opening weekend.
Up next for FSU is a midweek road trip to Jacksonville to face the JU Dolphins (4-0) on Tuesday at 6 pm. Then they head to Arlington, Texas, for the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series where they will face Michigan, No. 9 Auburn, and Nebraska. Thanks for reading, and Go Noles!
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