TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State (31-17) split a doubleheader with Jacksonville (26-23) Tuesday, winning the opener 3-0 and falling in the nightcap 3-2. Both games were scheduled for seven innings.
GAME 1 – FSU 3, Jacksonville 0
Florida State scored a run in three straight innings and Antonio Velez (3-2) threw six shutout frames in the Seminoles’ 3-0 win over the Dolphins in game one. Velez allowed four hits, did not walk a batter and struck out two in his best start of the season.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| JU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FSU | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 6 | 0 |
Nico Baldor doubled home Mat Nelson, who walked and stole second base to get the Noles on the board. In the third, Drew Mendoza singled and scored on Nelson’s eighth sacrifice bunt of the year. In the fourth, Baldor doubled to open the inning and scored on Carter Smith’s RBI single.
After giving up back-to-back singles to start the seventh and final inning, Velez was relieved by J.C. Flowers. Flowers picked up his 11th save, most in the Atlantic Coast Conference, by forcing two groundouts and a fly out.
The shutout was the second of the season for FSU and first since Opening Day, a combined no-hitter against Maine.
OF NOTE
- Antonio Velez started for the third time this season, throwing a career high 6.0 innings for his third win. The junior allowed four hits and struck out two without allowing a walk. The Dolphins got their first baserunner in the fifth inning.
- J.C. Flowers earned his 11th save, most in the ACC and most for a Seminole since Billy Strode’s 14 in 2015.
- Reese Albert doubled in the first inning, extending his reached base streak to a career-high 15 games.
- Drew Mendoza, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, went 1-for-3 and has an 8-game hitting streak.
- Mat Nelson walked in the second inning, pushing his reached base streak to 13 games. He dropped a sacrifice bunt down to score Mendoza in the third inning, his team-high 8th sac bunt of the year. He has 8 of FSU’s 14 sacrifice bunts on the year.
- Nico Baldor doubled twice and has seven on the year. His first scored Nelson for a 1-0 FSU lead. Six Noles have doubled twice in a game this season.
- Second shutout of season and first since Opening Day.
GAME 2 – Jacksonville 3, FSU 2
The Dolphins scored three late runs, one in the sixth inning to tie and two in the seventh, to salvage a split in Tuesday’s doubleheader.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| JU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| FSU | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
Clayton Kwiatkowski picked up where Velez left off in game one, throwing a career high 5.0 innings without allowing a run. Kwiatkowski struck out the side in the first inning and finished with four in the game.
Three Jacksonville pitchers combined to allow just one hit in the first three innings, but the Seminoles took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on Mike Salvatore’s sacrifice fly to score Elijah Cabell.
JU tied it on an unearned run in the sixth and had a runner at third base with no outs, but Chase Haney struck out the next two batters and forced an infield pop-up to keep the game tied.
After Jacksonville scored two in the seventh inning, FSU loaded the bases on a walk and two singles before Nander De Sedas was hit by a pitch to make the score 3-2. Zach Bryant earned his ninth save by forcing a groundout to end the game.
UP NEXT
FSU hits the road to face Stetson in DeLand Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+.
