Mickey the Mouth
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- May 21, 2026
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A single swing knocked Florida State baseball out of the ACC tournament and potentially out of a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Seminoles (38-17) entered the conference tournament on the bubble of earning a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament, which would've given the Seminoles a chance to host both a regional and a super regional, should the program reach that stage.
And for a moment on Friday, May 22, it looked like FSU had come back from a four-run deficit and put Pitt away at Truist Field to solidify its case for a top eight seed.
However, down to his final strike, Pitt's Kai Wagner hit a three-run blast in a 1-2 count — on a pitch that likely would have been a ball had he not swung — with two outs to stun the Seminoles with an 8-6 loss and an early return flight to Tallahassee from Charlotte.
"This is clearly not the end of the ride for us," Link Jarrett said postgame. "This is tough. To be here from Monday and walk out of here with a loss on Friday night."
While Wagner's home run was ultimately the winning swing, the Seminoles underperformed throughout the game. FSU made four costly errors, two of which helped propel Pitt to a four-run first inning, struck out 14 times, and left 12 runners on base, which included leaving the bases loaded twice.
Those aren't metrics you can't afford when holding a one-run late lead against a top-10 home hun hitting team in the country, and a team that has now scored 31 runs in three ACC Tournament games in Pitt.
The margins in the college baseball postseason are razor-thin, be it in a game or in the debate of NCAA Tournament seeding. Errors leading to a higher pitch count for Wes Mendes, who threw 99 pitches in five innings of work with eight strikeouts, or the double-digit runners left on base, aren't conducive to winning games.
The Seminoles' path to a top eight seed still exists, but the program will need some help in other tournaments to bolster that case, especially with FSU's RPI dropping to 11th from 7th due to the Pitt loss. FSU has won eight ACC series and consistently ranked in the top 12 this season across major metrics, so the door to a top eight seed cannot be fully closed, but that door has gone from wide open to slightly cracked with the early ACC Tournament exit.
Now, with that said, FSU is all but guaranteed a regional hosting spot, saved for the top 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament, which gives the program at least one more weekend at Dick Howser Stadium.
Could that be a weekend for the Seminoles to flush the loss and move on to a potential super regional on the road, or even at home if the higher seed is upset?
Sure.
But it would certainly make the road to the College World Series in Omaha tougher than it already was without Myles Bailey in the lineup. The Seminoles have made two consecutive super regionals under Jarrett, and if he wants to reach a third one, it starts with cleaner execution in an expected Tallahassee regional.
"I wanted us to play like you normally would see our group play. The first half of the game put us in a position that was a lot to overcome. Which we did. But I think some of the things early led to this thing being tight late. And you're susceptible to what happened," Jarrett said.
"Unfortunate, but Pitt deserved that one."
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: How Florida State baseball lost national seed in loss to Pitt
Continue reading...
The Seminoles (38-17) entered the conference tournament on the bubble of earning a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament, which would've given the Seminoles a chance to host both a regional and a super regional, should the program reach that stage.
And for a moment on Friday, May 22, it looked like FSU had come back from a four-run deficit and put Pitt away at Truist Field to solidify its case for a top eight seed.
However, down to his final strike, Pitt's Kai Wagner hit a three-run blast in a 1-2 count — on a pitch that likely would have been a ball had he not swung — with two outs to stun the Seminoles with an 8-6 loss and an early return flight to Tallahassee from Charlotte.
"This is clearly not the end of the ride for us," Link Jarrett said postgame. "This is tough. To be here from Monday and walk out of here with a loss on Friday night."
While Wagner's home run was ultimately the winning swing, the Seminoles underperformed throughout the game. FSU made four costly errors, two of which helped propel Pitt to a four-run first inning, struck out 14 times, and left 12 runners on base, which included leaving the bases loaded twice.
Those aren't metrics you can't afford when holding a one-run late lead against a top-10 home hun hitting team in the country, and a team that has now scored 31 runs in three ACC Tournament games in Pitt.
The margins in the college baseball postseason are razor-thin, be it in a game or in the debate of NCAA Tournament seeding. Errors leading to a higher pitch count for Wes Mendes, who threw 99 pitches in five innings of work with eight strikeouts, or the double-digit runners left on base, aren't conducive to winning games.
The Seminoles' path to a top eight seed still exists, but the program will need some help in other tournaments to bolster that case, especially with FSU's RPI dropping to 11th from 7th due to the Pitt loss. FSU has won eight ACC series and consistently ranked in the top 12 this season across major metrics, so the door to a top eight seed cannot be fully closed, but that door has gone from wide open to slightly cracked with the early ACC Tournament exit.
Now, with that said, FSU is all but guaranteed a regional hosting spot, saved for the top 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament, which gives the program at least one more weekend at Dick Howser Stadium.
Could that be a weekend for the Seminoles to flush the loss and move on to a potential super regional on the road, or even at home if the higher seed is upset?
Sure.
But it would certainly make the road to the College World Series in Omaha tougher than it already was without Myles Bailey in the lineup. The Seminoles have made two consecutive super regionals under Jarrett, and if he wants to reach a third one, it starts with cleaner execution in an expected Tallahassee regional.
"I wanted us to play like you normally would see our group play. The first half of the game put us in a position that was a lot to overcome. Which we did. But I think some of the things early led to this thing being tight late. And you're susceptible to what happened," Jarrett said.
"Unfortunate, but Pitt deserved that one."
How to watch the NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show
- Channel: ESPN
- When: Monday, May 25 / Noon
- Stream on ESPN Unlimited: Stream Live Sports and Exclusive Originals All in One Place with ESPN | ESPN
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: How Florida State baseball lost national seed in loss to Pitt
Continue reading...