Florida State baseball couldn’t weather the Red Storm.
The Seminoles let a three-run lead slip late as St. John’s stunned FSU 6-5 in game one of the Tallahassee Regional at Dick Howser Stadium on Friday, May 29. It was the first loss for the program this season when leading after seven innings, previously 35-0.
First pitch was delayed by two hours as rain was dumped on the field with storms rolling through the Tallahassee area. St. John’s stormed back late against the Seminoles, scoring four runs in the final two innings to win.
The Seminoles held a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning, but after a leadoff home run from Dylan Fitzsimmons and two base runners, on first and third base, FSU turned to John Abraham in relief of Chris Knier.
It was his first appearance since May 8, when he was injured against Clemson, and his outing wasn’t a happy return.
He threw two wild pitches and had one pitch get by catcher Hunter Carns for a passed ball. St. John’s scored two runs on the wild throws to tie the game and later loaded the bases in the half inning.
FSU, did, however, get out of the bases-loaded jam with two quick outs. John Stuetzer threw a runner out at home after a soft flyball dropped past the glove of Gabe Fraser, and then Cal Fisher tagged third for a force out after fielding a grounder.
Fitzsimmons led off the ninth inning, and he hit a single to reach base. During Jayder Raifstanger’s at-bat, he stole second base, which was crucial as Raifstanger’s single up the middle was enough to score Fitzsimmons, who beat Brayden Dowd’s throw from center field by a step to put St. John’s ahead, 6-5.
Despite two leadoff base runners, a flyout, and a double play would end the game and put FSU into the losers’ bracket.
Bryson Moore started and threw five innings, and he struck out six while walking one. He allowed two runs on six hits, with one run coming on a second-inning solo home run off the bat of St. John’s slugger Adam Agresti, which tied the game after John Stuetzer’s first-inning home run.
Stuetzer and Fraser both left the ballpark in the first two innings with solo home runs, giving FSU an early 2-1 lead. An RBI single from Dowd in the fourth inning stretched the lead to 3-1, but it was short-lived as St. John’s hit an RBI single to cut the lead to one.
In the sixth, the Seminoles executed a hit-and-run to add to the lead. After Carter McCulley singled, he ran on the first pitch of Cal Fisher’s at bat, and the third baseman hit a soft single to right field that snuck under the glove of Fitzsimmons and ran into the outfield.
It allowed McCulley to score and Fisher to reach second base and put FSU ahead 4-2. Dowd’s deep fly ball that was dropped scored Fisher and put FSU ahead 5-2 before the eighth inning collapse that eventually led to the loss.
What time is FSU baseball’s losers’ bracket game in the Tallahassee Regional?
First pitch for the Seminoles in the losers’ bracket game against either Coastal Carolina or Northern Illinois is set for 1 p.m. from Dick Howser Stadium.
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Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: St. John’s upsets FSU baseball with late flurry of runs in Tallahassee Regional
Reporting by Liam Rooney, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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