Florida State baseball's return home Tuesday night was not a very welcome one for the pitching staff.
Tasked with a whole-staff game vs. Jacksonville without a true starting pitcher in the first home game in two weeks, the first four FSU pitchers largely struggled with command, allowing five runs in the first inning and issuing a combined nine walks over the first four innings.
Thankfully for the pitching staff, the FSU offense came to play and the bullpen rose to the occasion late on Tuesday night. The No. 4 Seminoles (24-4) mashed their way to an 11-10 win over Jacksonville (16-12) at Dick Howser Stadium, batting their way out of a big early hole and preserving a lead late.
Trailing 5-0 in the middle of the first, FSU got two runs back in the bottom of the first on a home run from Max Williams. It then took the lead with four more runs in the bottom of the second on a home run from James Hankerson Jr. -- his second in as many career FSU starts -- a pair of singles and a wild pitch.
After JU reclaimed the lead, Williams hit his second homer of the night (14th of the season, giving him the ACC lead and moving him into the top five nationally) to tie the game at 7. FSU then took the lead with two more runs in the fourth and added two insurance runs in the seventh.
FSU finished with 13 hits, four of them extra-base hits, in the win. The top four in the FSU order had nine combined hits, led by freshman cleanup hitter Myles Bailey's three-hit night.
That proved to be enough for the Seminoles thanks to some success they found on the mound from less-utilized pitchers late in Tuesday's game. Starter Hudson Rowan, Maison Martinez, Payton Manca and Joe Charles allowed seven runs (all earned) on five hits and nine walks before Brady Louck settled things down.
The sophomore lefty — who had thrown just 6.2 innings all season — delivered three innings of walk-free work on the mound, allowing just one baserunner on a solo home run.
While Jacob Marlowe got FSU one out away from the win, he allowed two ninth-inning runs on a pair of two-out walks followed by a double to cut the lead to one run.
Ben Barrett, though, was up to the task in the clutch, coming out of the bullpen and striking out the first batter he faced to strand the tying run on second and record his second save of the season.
Still, it was certainly another night to forget for the FSU pitching staff, which allowed 10 runs on eight hits with 11 walks and 12 strikeouts. It was the third straight nine-inning game that FSU's pitching staff combined to walk nine-plus batters.
Up Next
With this midweek win in hand, FSU now looks ahead to its toughest weekend series test of the season to date.
The Seminoles will host Wake Forest (20-9, 7-5 ACC) for a three-game series, which will start Friday at 8 p.m. on ACC Network.
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