Talk about a beatdown. The No. 8 Florida State Seminoles showed that they meant business Friday by taking care of the visiting UConn Huskies by a final score of 24-4 in Tallahassee. The big victory leaves the Noles just one win away from yet another trip to Omaha.
FSU scored all 24 runs on just 18 hits. They also walked an astounding 15 times, as the control of the Huskies' pitchers did not fare well in the Florida heat and humidity. Florida State is now in control of its own destiny.
A sweep could be on the cards for the Noles
The Seminoles scored runs in every inning except the fifth and eighth during the big win, including an impressive 15-run streak in the sixth and seventh innings. It seemed as if their offense could not be stopped, no matter what Connecticut threw at them.
The Huskies sent six pitchers to the mound, yet five of them didn't even last two innings. In fact, four of them didn't even make it past one inning of work.
Fans had plenty to say after the game, sharing their reactions in the comments section under ESPN's post on Instagram:
"UConn only good at basketball," a fan said.
"Losing by 20 in baseball is insane," one fan said.
"Thought this was a football score holy sh*t," another commented.
"3 touchdowns and they win this one," one fan humorously quipped.
"Just cancel the series," another said.
"Chill chill, we’re not even a baseball school fr," one fan said.
"Doesn’t matter, Evansville winning it all this year," one fan predicted.
"This like losing by 70 in basketball," another added.
The Noles set records for the most runs and the largest winning margin in a super regional game. If today is any indication of how the team can play moving forward, then FSU could be a major threat in Omaha once the College World Series kicks off later this month.
Perhaps this momentum can help Florida State finally add a national championship to its trophy case.
UConn must shake off loss to get back on track
When your starting pitcher doesn't even make it through the second inning, then it might be a long day. Well, things got even worse for the Huskies once reliever Garrett Coe left the game in the sixth inning with one out on the board. Coe, usually a starter for the Huskies, came on and gave them their longest outing of the game at 3.2 innings.
Offensively, it wasn't the worst day for Connecticut, as four runs on 11 hits isn't a bad day on the diamond. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough for FSU's fireworks, as the Seminoles had already outscored that total by the end of the second inning.
To keep their unlikely road to Omaha open, a bounceback is imperative for UConn in Game 2 on Sunday. If the Huskies can find a way to quiet Florida State's bats back down to a manageable level, then they have a shot at forcing a deciding Game 3. If not though, then they will go back to Storrs and prepare for a long offseason ahead.
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