Tenth-ranked Virginia being plain awful on defense was what keyed the 5-2 loss to #7 Florida State on Friday.
Awful is being generous.
Try: three errors, what went into the scorebook as a wild pitch on third strike on what would have been the third out of an inning that allowed a run to score, a fly ball misplayed into a double, another that could have been caught in deep center, but was misplayed into a two-run homer.
The top of the third was plain weird: starting pitcher Max Stammel flaked out on a bunt; the next batter, Brayden Dowd, airmailed a bunt all the way to shortstop Eric Becker for a fielder’s choice; Kelvyn Paulino Jr. reached on an error by third baseman Noah Murray; and Eli Putnam worked a walk on a 3-2 pitch, to put the ‘’Noles on top, 1-0.
The missed third strike, on a slider from Noah Yoder, was almost surreal, the ball bounding out to the left of catcher Jake Weatherspoon, down the third-base line.
That one came after a sac fly RBI from Paulino, and the score was 3-0 halfway through.
Virginia (24-8, 8-6 ACC) got one back in the bottom half of the fifth, on an RBI single from Joe Tiroly.
Next time up, FSU (23-7, 8-3 ACC) got it to 5-1 on a two-run homer off the bat of Hunter Carns, on what was basically a towering fly ball to center that UVA centerfielder AJ Gracia had a really good shot at, and whiffed on, as the ball hit the batter’s eye above the yellow line marking the line for a home run.
Weatherspoon got the score to 5-2 with his second homer of the season in the bottom of the sixth.
Florida State starter Trey Beard (3-0, 3.58 ERA) went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits, striking out seven and walking four, and hitting two.
Closer John Abraham got his fourth save the hard way – going four innings, not exactly lights-out innings, either.
Abraham did K six UVA hitters, but he also allowed five baserunners, and Virginia got the tying run to the plate twice – with two outs in the eighth, in a rally that ended with pinch-hitter Kyle Johnson taking a very questionable third strike, and in the ninth, with Sam Harris, and his team-leading 10 homers on the season, striking out on a slider in the dirt with two on and two out to end it.
Harris and Becker were both 0-for-5 on the day with three Ks, and three-hole hitter Harrison Didawick was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
Stammel (2-3, 6.75 ERA) took the tough-luck loss, betrayed by porous defense – he gave up three runs, two earned, on five hits in 4.1 innings, striking out seven and walking one.
Yoder struck out four in his 1.2 innings of relief.
Solid outing from Kevin Jaxel: three innings pitched, no runs, one hit, four Ks, with a lively fastball touching 94.
Series finale
The rubber game is a matinee – with an 11 a.m. Saturday start, to get things done early ahead of the crush heading into town for the Luke Combs concert at Scott Stadium on Saturday night.
Watch: ACC Network Extra
Pitching probables
- FSU: Bryson Moore (4-1, 5.12 ERA)
- UVA: John Paone (1-1, 5.02 ERA)
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Chris Graham
