What a way to shake off the Arlington blues. After back-to-back losses to close out the Texas trip, the Florida State baseball team returned home to Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium on Wednesday evening and put on an offensive show, defeating North Florida 14-9 to move to 5-2 on the young season. The bats that had gone quiet in Arlington found their voice in a hurry.
This was not a perfect performance. There was plenty of sloppiness to pick apart, and the coaching staff will have plenty to correct. But after a tough road stretch, sometimes you just need to come home, score some runs, and remember what it feels like to win. Mission accomplished.
Myles Bailey Was the Spark
If you're looking for a headline performer tonight, look no further than first baseman Myles Bailey, who put on an absolute clinic at the plate. Bailey went 3-for-3 with two home runs, both blasts to deep left field, four RBIs, three runs scored, and a hit by pitch for good measure. He tallied nine total bases on the night. That's the kind of performance that puts a smile on every Noles fan's face and reminds you why this kid is so special.
The power has always been there with Bailey, and tonight it showed up in a big way when the team needed someone to set the tone. His first home run came in the fourth inning off UNF's Zane Starling with Noah Sheffield aboard, turning a 7-2 FSU lead into a comfortable 9-2 cushion. He went back-to-back deep in the sixth, a solo shot that punctuated another big Florida State frame. Myles Bailey was the engine tonight.
The Offense as a Whole
It wasn't just Bailey, though. This was a collective offensive effort that will feel good after the struggles in Texas. Sheffield had himself a night going 2-for-5 with four RBIs, including a clutch two-run single in the big second inning that really got the party started. Kelvyn Paulino Jr. chipped in two hits and three RBIs, and Cal Fisher added a pair of doubles and an RBI of his own. Hunter Carns was on base consistently, working two hits and a walk out of the four-hole in the lineup.
The second inning was the backbreaker for North Florida. FSU sent nine men to the plate and scored six runs. Sheffield's two-run single, a Bailey RBI single, Gabe Fraser's sacrifice fly, and then Paulino Jr. plating two more off a single to left. It was relentless. From that point forward, FSU held a lead they never relinquished even though things got shaky late.
The sixth inning added three more, with Bailey going deep again and then doubles from Paulino Jr. and Fisher doing the rest. The Noles finished with 11 hits, drew nine walks, and got hit by pitches six times. This offense had plenty of traffic on the bases despite stranding 12 runners.
The Pitching Picture — A Mixed Bag
Here's where we must be honest. The pitching staff was, to put it kindly, a work in progress tonight. Nine different arms took the rubber for Florida State, and while the bullpen ultimately got the job done, there were some genuinely ugly stretches.
UNF entered the sixth trailing 8-3 and proceeded to plate four runs off a carousel of FSU relievers. Ben Barrett, Kevin Mebil, and Jake Echols all struggled to throw strikes in rapid succession, combining to walk three and allow the game to tighten uncomfortably. Jackson Toberman's three-run double to right center made it 11-7 at that point, and suddenly what felt like a comfortable lead had some genuine tension behind it.
Enter Payton Manca. The right-hander came on in relief with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth and proceeded to absolutely slam the door. Manca retired all seven batters he faced, six by strikeout, throwing 43 pitches in 2.1 shutout innings to earn the win and move to 2-1 on the year. When this bullpen needed someone to step up and stop the bleeding, Manca was exactly that guy tonight.
Starter Rhett Vaughn went 2.1 innings and allowed two earned runs, but his control was shaky enough that the staff turned it over to Cade O'Leary and then John Abraham relatively early. Abraham was actually solid, tossing two clean innings with three strikeouts. The back end of the bullpen after Manca was messy. Cole Stokes was responsible for three wild pitches in the ninth that allowed UNF to score three cosmetic runs, but the game was well in hand at that point.
FSU walked nine batters and hit two. Against a better lineup, free baserunners like that will come back to haunt you. I'm sure that will be a point of emphasis for Posey and staff going forward.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, North Florida is a 5-5 ball club from the lower ranks. This isn't a scalp anyone is hanging on the wall. But that's not really the point right now. Florida State needed this game, needed the reps, needed the confidence boost after a rough Arlington weekend.
The schedule is going to ramp back up in a hurry after this weekend. Getting 14 runs on 11 hits while also working nine walks is the offense remembering what it's capable of. Bailey reminding everyone he has home run power. Sheffield proving he can drive in runs. The bottom of the lineup contributing. These are the kinds of reps that matter when the competition stiffens in the coming weeks.
The sloppiness, the walks, the wild pitches, the hit batters, the revolving door in the bullpen: that all needs to get cleaned up. Clean games win championships, and this was not a clean game. But sometimes you need a win more than you need a masterpiece, and on a mild Wednesday evening in Tallahassee in front of the home fans at Howser, the Noles got both a win and some valuable at-bats heading into what promises to be a gauntlet of a schedule. The Noles are 5-2. The bats are waking up. The pitching will…hopefully…get sorted out. Onward. Thanks for reading and Go Noles!