No. 11 FSU baseball comes back from big deficit, walks-off rival Miami in 11th inning

Despite trailing rival Miami by five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning Thursday night at Dick Howser Stadium, the No. 11 Florida State baseball team came all the way back to tie it in the bottom of the ninth and then walked it off the in the 11th. Literally.

Brayden Dowd’s bases-loaded walk with two outs scored Ben Barrett from third and gave the Seminoles their wildest and perhaps most memorable win of the season. The end result was a 7-6 comeback win for FSU, which is now 37-16 overall and 18-10 in the ACC. The victory also clinches a Top 4 seed for the Seminoles in next week’s ACC Tournament.

The walk-off walk set off a wild celebration as Florida State’s payers chased Dowd into center field, and the emotions were running high on both sides as words were exchanged between the Seminoles and some Hurricanes after the celebration.

“Incredible game,” FSU head coach Link Jarrett said. “Can’t say enough about the fight of the group. Miami played a beautiful game. They gave us obviously everything we could handle. … One of the more memorable games in this stadium in a regular-season format. I know there’s been a lot of good ones. A lot against the University of Miami. But that one’s up there for me.

“Special stuff.”

Miami actually led 6-1 in the eighth inning after getting seven excellent innings from starting pitcher Rob Evans. The Hurricanes then went to reliever Lyndon Glidewell, and he did not pitch well.

Glidewell gave up back-to-back homers to John Stuetzer and Brayden Dowd in the bottom of the eighth and then gave up three runs in the ninth as the Seminoles stormed back to tie the game.

Gabe Fraser led off the ninth with a walk, Ben Barrett followed with a single, and Carter McCulley hit a 399-foot sacrifice fly to the base of the wall in center field to make the score 6-4. Eli Putnam then came on to pinch hit, and the Davidson transfer launched a monster home run to left field on the first pitch he saw to tie the game and send the Howser Stadium crowd into a frenzy.

“That’s pretty special,” said Putnam, who slammed the bat down almost as soon as he hit the ball and saw where it was going. “That’s the culmination of a lot of hard work. Some ups and downs this season. So, that’s pretty special. I’ll probably never forget that.”

Especially because two innings later the Seminoles won it. Barrett delivered his third hit of the game, Putnam ripped a two-out single to center and then Stuetzer was hit by a 1-2 pitch to set the stage for Dowd’s walk-off walk.

There was no way to predict there would be so much late-inning drama considering how the first seven innings went. The Hurricanes raced out to their 6-1 advantage by having one big inning against FSU starter Wes Mendes.

The Florida State ace threw five scoreless innings out of the six he pitched, but it was the four-spot he surrendered in the fourth that made it an un-Mendes like start for the All-America candidate.

The star lefty, who is very much in the running for ACC Pitcher of the Year, got through the first three innings without allowing a run and had a 1-0 lead in the fourth thanks to a Hunter Carns solo home run to right-center.

But Miami opened the fourth with back-to-back bloop singles, and then Alonzo Alvarez, who had shown bunt on the first pitch, unloaded on the next one for a three-run homer over the screen in right field. The next hitter then doubled off the screen, advanced to third on a sac bunt and scored when first baseman Barrett threw errantly to home on what would have been a sure out at the plate.

Mendes rallied to get through the next two innings unscathed, and he wound up striking out six and walking none while allowing eight hits (half of them hit less than 80 mph) on 96 pitches.

Miami was then able to take advantage of the Florida State bullpen immediately after Mendes left the game.

Cade O’Leary came in and hit the first batter he saw, gave up an infield single to the next hitter and then walked the next one. He was removed for Kevin Mebil, who induced a 6-4-3 double play ball but then allowed a two-out RBI single as the Hurricanes extended the lead to five runs.

Mebil pitched scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth to keep the Seminoles in the game. Chris Knier then was brilliant in relief for the Seminoles, pitching two hitless innings and striking out five while not allowing a hit.

“That’s the best he’s ever thrown in his life,” Jarrett said.

Barrett, Dowd and Putnam each had multiple-hit games for the Seminoles.

Florida State and Miami will play Game 2 of the series Friday at 6 p.m.

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