Florida State beat Florida for the third straight time in the River City, 7-2, on Tuesday night in front of 9,276 fans that made up a sea of Blue, Orange, Garnet and Gold at the Baseball Grounds – home of the Double-A Jacksonville Suns – and has now outscored its rivals 20-6 at the neutral site since 2008.  

It was the sixth straight win for the Seminoles (20-4), who also took a 2-1 edge in the inaugural Florida Four Tournament in the process with the last meeting against the Gators (18-6) set for April 13 in Tallahassee.  

“A lot of things just happened to go our way,” FSU coach Mike Martin said. “But, I don’t think you can say enough about the job Geoff Parker and Brian Busch did. It was just absolutely beautiful pitching.

“It’s a good win for us and a joy and a pleasure to be part of an atmosphere like this. It’s great for college baseball.”  

 Busch (4-0) earned the win in relief by going 4 1/3 innings without giving up a run or a walk and striking out six. His ERA now sits at a microscopic 0.79.  

Parker, who has been erratic for much of the year, gave up two runs, though neither were earned, in 4 2/3 innings.  

Designated hitter Stuart Tapley blasted a two-run homer, his fourth of the year, over the left field wall in the top of the ninth to put the ’Noles up by the final margin.  

Still, the story of the game may have been Florida’s fielding woes. The Gators made a season-high five errors and each led to a run as the Seminoles built up a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. It was an uncharacteristic sight for a team that entered the game leading the SEC with a .983 fielding percentage, having made just 15 errors in their 23 previous games.  

“Other than that I think it would have been a different ball game,” said left field Tyler Holt, who played his high school ball in Gainesville. “They pitched good. We just got some timely hitting with those errors.”  

Martin had told Busch he was finished after the eighth and planned on bringing closer Mike McGee. But, after Tapley’s homer, Martin changed his mind and kept Busch in the game.   

“That was the first time that’s ever happened I can honestly say,” said Busch, who had to put his spikes back on. “My mindset was a lot different all the sudden you have to get refocused.”  

Right fielder James Ramsey made a sliding catch near the foul line in the ninth, which likely kept Busch in the game.  

Ramsey also added an RBI-double down the right field line in the seventh and eventually scored on a deep sacrifice fly to left center from second basemen Devon Travis, which put the ’Noles up 5-2.  

“Ramsey’s double was huge,” Martin said. “When we needed a runner moved he not only moved him but he ends up at second base and then ends up scoring.”  

Florida used six different pitchers with none lasting more than 2 1/3 innings. Third basemen Andre Maddox committed two errors.   

The Seminoles return to ACC action on Friday against Virginia Tech (16-9, 4-5 ACC) a 6 p.m. Martin is now four wins shy of getting his 1,600th career victory, a mark only four other coaches have ever reached.
 

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Section B Online Player of the Game:

Brian Busch
4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 k