No. 7 FSU kicked off its road trip with a ride down south to DeLand, facing off against the Stetson Hatters in the first of two matchups between the schools this season.
Florida State shook up its batting order with Myles Bailey lost for the season, as Link Jarrett threw Noah Sheffield back into the lineup and slid Cal Fisher over to third base. While the sophomore had a few early miscues, his two-run homer in the sixth inning put Florida State back in front before the Seminoles pulled away in the seventh
en route to a 6-3 win — FSU’s first in DeLand since 2017.
The top of the order got nothing going to start the game off, with a Brayden Dowd groundout followed by John Stuetzer and Hunter Carns strikeouts.
FSU’s defensive mistakes reared their head early, with a first-base overthrow giving Stetson life in the bottom of the first and a misplay on a bunt putting runners on the corners with no outs — which quickly became two RISP after a failed pickoff attempt. Whited bailed the Seminoles out with a strikeout, and a pair of routine outs kept the damage off the board.
The top of the second produced another 1-2-3 frame for FSU, and Stetson answered in kind to keep things moving.
Stetson made a change on the mound in the third and FSU quickly took advantage of the switch as Chase Williams knocked a right field line double to lead off. A wild pitch and a Carter McCulley walk loaded the corners for Florida State, with the Seminoles taking the lead on a Cal Fisher groundout RBI. Dowd went down swinging and Stuetzer lined out to keep things at 1-0.
Stetson opened its half with a groundout before Whited issued a walk. A fielder’s choice at second followed for the second out, and Whited punched out the next batter to strand the runner and keep Florida State ahead.
Carns popped up in foul territory to open the fourth, but Florida State put two runners on via back-to-back walks to Kelvyn Paulino Jr. and Eli Putnam, prompting another pitching change from Stetson — which produced yet another walk and loaded the bases. Williams singled to right-center to plate Paulino Jr., but a baserunning error by Sheffield led to the second out and McCulley struck out swinging, stranding two at a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Stetson got a leadoff left-center double. Whited fanned the next batter but surrendered a game-tying home run on the following pitch, and back-to-back fly outs closed the inning before FSU went quietly in the fifth.
Brodie Purcell replaced Whited in the bottom frame, ending his day with 4 IP, four hits, two runs and four strikeouts on 17 batters faced.
Purcell struck out the first batter he faced and walked the second on a 3-2 count. After the runner stole second, Purcell fanned the next two batters to strand him and end the inning.
The top of the sixth saw Carns reach on a walk, and with a 2-0 count on Paulino Jr., Stetson made its third pitching change. Paulino Jr. grounded out to advance Carns to second before Putnam struck out. Sheffield, making up for his earlier miscue, then launched a two-run homer to push Florida State back in front, 4-2.
Stetson’s leadoff batter grounded out to start the sixth, and Purcell walked the next man on a 3-1 count. The runner swiped second but was left stranded as Purcell struck out the following batter and got a groundout to short.
McCulley led off the seventh with a hit by pitch, advanced to third on a Fisher single with the corners occupied, then scored when a wild pitch pushed Fisher to second and Dowd laced an RBI single to right. Fisher moved to third on the play as Stetson turned to its fifth pitcher of the night. Dowd swiped second, Stuetzer popped up for the first out, and another wild pitch made it 6-2. Florida State loaded the bases when Paulino Jr. was hit by a pitch, but Putnam struck out looking on a 13-pitch at-bat and Sheffield went down swinging to strand them all.
Chris Knier took over on the mound to open the seventh’s bottom half, ending Purcell’s night after two innings of work, four strikeouts and no hits allowed over eight batters faced.
Sheffield’s error handed Stetson a baserunner to start, but Knier answered by striking out the next batter. A groundout moved the runner to second, and a two-out single put Stetson in business at both corners — ending Knier’s outing after just four batters.
John Abraham got the call to the mound, but immediately gave up an RBI double to allow Stetson to pull within three. He punched out the next batter to strand two RISP, sending the game to the eighth inning with Florida State leading 6-3.
Stetson trotted out a new pitcher to open the eighth, and Williams grounded out before McCulley struck out. Fisher kept the inning alive with a left field single on a 3-2 count, but a Dowd flyout ended the threat.
FSU reshuffled defensively — moving Stuetzer to left field, Sheffield to right, Fisher to second and Bavaro to third in place of Williams in the lineup’s seventh slot — before Abraham worked around a walk with a groundout and two strikeouts to send it to the ninth.
The Hatters called on their seventh arm of the night, and FSU greeted him with consecutive singles from Stuetzer and Carns. Paulino Jr. grounded out to advance both runners, but a Putnam strikeout and a Sheffield grounder ended the inning and left Stetson with one final at-bat.
Gabe Nard closed it out, retiring the first batter on strikes, inducing a groundout from the second and punching out the third to seal the 6-3 victory.
