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FSU baseball struggles in upset loss to Mercer days before facing Wake Forest
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- FSU baseball struggles in upset loss to Mercer days before facing Wake Forest
FSU baseball was riding high coming into Tuesday night, holding a five-game winning streak that saw the Seminoles jump into the top 10 in major rankings.
Looking to keep the win streak alive before its matchup against No. 14 Wake Forest this weekend, the Mercer Bears had a different plan in mind for FSU.
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The Seminoles (30-6) struggled on the mound resulting in a 13-6 loss to the Bears (19-16) on Tuesday evening, snapping the five-game winning streak.
"We clearly did not execute to get out of our own way to give us a chance to take the game over," FSU head coach Link Jarrett said. "We never really have a good control. So unfortunate. Good lessons for everybody. A very tough, less on that you have to bring every single, and this was not a lack of being ready to play. This was just a lack of consistent execution that got us."
Yoel Tejada Jr , who started for the Noles, pitched only 1.1 innings after facing nine batters, allowing one earned run on two hits.
For the remainder of the game, FSU relied on its bullpen as nine pitchers saw the field. Connor Hults, who relieved for Tejada, had a strong showing as he finished with five strikeouts in 1.2 innings work. The loss went to Hudson Rowan.
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FSU allowed 13 hits off 14 runs, which included a solo home run by Parker Lester in the second inning, and a grand slam in the top fourth. Mercer took a huge lead, following a grand slam by Noah Best.
"We could not consistently execute with two strikes, less than two strikes," Jarrett said postgame.
While the hits weren't much of a problem for the Seminoles, it didn't result in enough runs.
Max Williams went 4-for-5 at the plate and an RBI. Cam Smith led with 2 RBI, and Daniel Cantu hit a solo home run in the bottom fifth. The Seminoles' attempt at a comeback came in the bottom of the seventh after scoring three runs in the half-inning to cut the lead to four, but Mercer took away their momentum with three runs in the top of the eighth to clinch the game.
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"This revolves around when you're preparing to come into these games, and you're preparing to do your work in practice every day," Jarret said. "You have to bring that into the arena and go battle with it. And it needs to be your level, a quality stuff."
Like the Seminoles, Wake Forest comes into the weekend after an upset defeat to UNC Wilmington, 8-5 on Tuesday night.
FSU will travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina this weekend and play the Demon Deacons on Friday at 6 p.m. at David F Couch Ballpark.
The Seminoles currently rank second in the ACC, only trailing Clemson, while Wake Forest sits in fourth place, with this weekend's series giving the Demon Deacons a chance to make up ground on third-place North Carolina State.
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Despite the loss, Jarrett believes FSU's matchup against the 14th-ranked Demon Deacons has a super-regional feel. Both teams are looking to bounce back after a crucial loss on the same night, and Jarrett had high praises for the Deamon Deacons.
"They're dynamic," Jarrett said. "Like they're an energetic, dynamic group. They're physical. They got some really good arms, experienced arms. So this is going to be all you can handle when you roll up there. "
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU baseball struggles with pitching in upset loss to Mercer
