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'Best atmosphere I've seen': How Marching Chiefs, sold-out Howser helped FSU baseball against UF
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- 'Best atmosphere I've seen': How Marching Chiefs, sold-out Howser helped FSU baseball against UF
Link Jarrett is no stranger to a big environment.
As both a player and a coach, Jarrett has experienced some of the most hostile and energetic crowds in college baseball.
But what FSU's head coach experienced Tuesday night at Dick Howser Stadium was something he admittedly had never seen.
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From Florida State's Marching Chiefs blaring the Warchant an hour before the first pitch of the game was thrown, to a sold-out crowd of 6,700, not including those who scaled the right field fence to catch a glimpse of the action, Jarrett knew Tuesday night was something special.
"To have that atmosphere, it requires their participation. The stadium can be nice but you have to have people who want to be a part of this and engage," Jarrett said. "I think that's the best atmosphere I've ever seen in a game that I've coached or played at this level.
"It was just awesome."
FSU's Marching Chiefs and a sold-out crowd were on hand to see the Seminoles 19-4 win over rival Florida on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
The result of that environment was a 19-4 drubbing of rival No. 24 Florida (17-15) , completing the No. 10 Seminoles ' (27-5) first three-game sweep of the Gators since 2000.
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The win opened Rivalry Week for FSU, which plays four games in five days. The Seminoles' homestand continues Thursday against Miami in the first of three games.
Jarrett said the conversations to have the Marching Chiefs at the game started because the band practices across from the baseball team. It also uses the concourse at Howser to practice when there was lighting.
"I just finally asked them if they would play the anthem, and that kind of led them to come over in the fall for the scrimmage, and that led to today," Jarrett said. "I never thought we would have that many of them that were able to make it out."
"It was just a really cool part of what makes Florida State so special."
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After returning to Tallahassee around 2:30 a.m. Monday following travel delays from Boston College , the environment and rivalry matchup gave the team a needed energy boost.
FSU's Marching Chiefs and a sold-out crowd were on hand to see the Seminoles 19-4 win over rival Florida on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
Jarrett said he couldn't believe the energy the team played with considering the lack of rest. But the atmosphere and chance to pick up a rare sweep played its part in getting the team ready.
FSU catcher Jaxson West shared the sentiment and felt the Marching Chiefs and crowd lifted the Seminoles.
The former Chiles star has seen plenty of games between the rival schools.
But now being a part of the series and getting to experience the atmosphere, he feels very little compares to it.
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And Tuesday night provided a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"I've come to a lot of games in my life at Florida State, being from here, and I don't think I've ever experienced an atmosphere like that," West said.
"It was cool to see the team do that tonight. But I think a lot of the credit should go to Nole Nation for what they did for us. I think that's the most fun I've ever had playing baseball in my entire life. I gotta give all the credit to those guys."
Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamroone y
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Sold-out crowd, Marching Chiefs give FSU baseball energy boost against UF
