Jack Anderson entered to start the seventh inning and earned his third save in the past week.
The Irish took an early lead, loading the bases in the first inning courtesy of a double, walk and a single before FSU recorded an out. Jack Brannigan lofted a sacrifice fly to center field for the 1-0 lead, but Messick limited the damage to just the one run.
Notre Dame loaded the bases again, this time with one out, in the third inning, before Messick notched a strikeout and a fielder’s choice ground ball to end the frame. After getting out of the bases loaded jam in the third, Messick faced the minimum over the next three innings, with his only baserunner allowed getting thrown out to end the sixth inning.
NOTRE DAME, Ind. Hits were hard to come by for the second-ranked Notre Dame baseball team as they fell to No. 13 Florida State 5-2 in the series opener Friday night at Frank Eck Stadium.
After scoring in the first inning, the Irish (24-9, 21-9 ACC) offense was unable to get any other runs across until the final frame. The Seminoles (24-16, 16-12 ACC) scored two runs with two outs in the fourth to take the lead and never looked back. The Noles tacked on three insurance runs in the ninth to seal the series opening win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish got on the board early, scoring in the bottom of the first inning. The Irish loaded the bases and scored the game’s first run after a sacrifice fly from Jack Brannigan scored Spencer Myers. After the first frame, Notre Dame held a 1-0 lead.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – No. 13 Florida State won its fourth road series against a ranked team, splitting Saturday’s doubleheader at No. 2 Notre Dame after beating the Irish Friday night. The Seminoles are now 25-17 and 17-13 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while Notre Dame falls to 25-10 overall and 22-10 in the ACC.
Notre Dame won the first game Saturday, 5-3, before FSU won the nightcap, 7-1.
Elijah Cabell had three hits Saturday, extending his hitting streak to eight games. Nico Baldor, who made his first start of the season in the second game Saturday, reached base in all five plate appearances with three doubles, four runs batted in, a walk and a hit by pitch.
FSU: RHP Conor Grady (4-2, 3.91 ERA) vs. ND: TBA
FSU catcher Mat Nelson continues to lead the nation in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage. The third-year sophomore hit his 20
th home run of the season Sunday, the first Nole with at least 20 in a year since Buster Posey hit 26 in 2008. Nelson has 57 runs batted in and an .867 slugging percentage.
Messick, from Plant City, Florida, ranks second in the ACC with a 2.45 earned run average and 91 strikeouts. Messick has won three consecutive decisions and has 10 consecutive games with at least 5.0 innings pitched and two or fewer earned runs allowed.
Hubbart and Grady both set career highs in strikeouts last weekend against Troy. Hubbart retired 12 Trojan batters via K in 6.1 innings, also a career best. Grady needed just 5.0 innings to strike out 13 batters, the most for a Seminole this season.
May 2, 2021 ⚾: Hare, Nelson Power Noles in Comeback Win vs. Troy
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Davis Hare and Mat Nelson each hit late-inning home runs, and the FSU bullpen continued its strong weekend, as No. 20 Florida State (23-16) rallied from an early deficit for a 4-2 win over Troy (21-21) Sunday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium. The win clinched the series for the Seminoles.
Each team scored just seven runs over the three-game series, which FSU won two games to one. Conor Grady continued FSU’s strong starting pitching Sunday, with a career-high 13 strikeouts with no walks. He did give up a pair of runs (one earned) over 5.0 innings.