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Mendes magnificent as No. 14 FSU rolls to 10-1 win over Pitt in Game 1 of doubleheader

On3 imageby: Corey Clark05/02/26Corey_Clark

The Year of Wes Mendes continued on Saturday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium.

In Game 1 of a doubleheader against a vaunted Pitt lineup, the Florida State left-hander pitched the first nine-inning complete game of his career and the first one by a Seminole in eight years as FSU rolled to a 10-1 win over the Panthers.

Florida State is now 31-14 overall and 13-9 in the ACC.

Mendes allowed one run — a solo home run to Pitt star Lorenzo Carrier in the fourth inning — and just five hits in shutting down an offense that came into Saturday in the Top 10 in the country in both batting average and slugging percentage.

The junior lefty also recorded seven strikeouts with zero walks to improve to 8-3 on the season. He lowered his ERA to 2.25 while delivering FSU’s first nine-inning complete game since Drew Parrish did it on May 25, 2018.

And like many great pitchers do, Mendes got stronger as the game went on.

The Florida State ace didn’t record a single strikeout in the first 11 batters he faced, a rarity for him in 2026, but then recorded seven the rest of the way — including two in the final inning. He also had two five-pitch frames.

And while Pitt hit some balls hard (especially early), Mendes’ defense made all the plays behind him to secure the series-opening victory.

The same can’t be said for the Pitt defense, which struggled mightily in Game 1. The Panthers were charged with three errors, and the Seminoles took advantage of all of them.

Florida State scored four runs in the second inning when Nathan Cmeyla led off with an infield single, Gabe Fraser walked, Eli Putnam sac-bunted them to the next base, and then both of them scored on an E-6 off the bat of Cal Fisher.

Two batters later, John Stuetzer hit a two-run home run to left to give the Seminoles a 4-0 lead.

Florida State did the rest of its scoring in the sixth. Cmeyla again had an infield single, Fraser followed with one of his own and then Putnam advanced Cmeyla to third on deep fly to center. Fisher then got an RBI on a bunt when Pitt couldn’t get the out at home.

Fraser would go on to steal home when a squeeze bunt wasn’t executed successfully; the speedy shortstop scored anyway when the catcher tried to throw behind him. Stuetzer followed with a two-run double, and Brady DeLamielleure drove in a run with an RBI single to right.

All told, the Seminoles scored 10 runs on eight hits. They also drew four walks and only struck out six times.

The second game of the doubleheader was scheduled to start around 5:30 p.m., with Trey Beard getting the start against Pitt, which is now 28-16 on the season and 10-12 in the ACC.

Florida State ace Wes Mendes delivers a pitch Saturday during his complete game win against Pitt. (Courtesy of FSU Sports Information)
Florida State ace Wes Mendes delivers a pitch Saturday during his complete game win against Pitt. (Courtesy of FSU Sports Information)

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