Nelson torments Eagles as Seminoles take series
Florida State catcher Matheu Nelson raised his weekend RBI total to eight in a 5-1 victory.
The Eagles really could have used a win on Saturday.
They’d dropped five in a row and five straight weekend conference series and were looking to at least force a rubber match with the Seminoles on Sunday after a tough eight-run loss on Friday.
Instead, Florida State catcher Matheu Nelson erased an early 1-0 BC lead with a three-run home run off the scoreboard in left and the Seminoles kept the Eagles at bay en route to a 5-1 series-clinching win.
Nelson only has two hits in two games against BC (14-18, 4-16), but they’ve been huge ones for Florida State (18-13, 13-10). His grand slam in the series opener handed the Seminoles a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, and his three-run shot was the first hit off of Eagles’ starter Emmet Sheehan. Nelson went on to tack on a sacrifice fly in the seventh, bringing his RBI total to eight in two games and an ACC-best 47 on the year.
Sheehan threw six innings and struck out nine, the fourth time hitting that mark this year, but had little run support and was ultimately out-dueled by Florida State’s Bryce Hubbart. The Eagles have scored just 12 runs during this five-game skid and have a lot of work to do to get out of the conference cellar and earn a spot in the ACC Championship.
MOMENT’S THAT MATTERED:
Big hits, and an absence of them: For the second game in a row, Nelson broke open a game with a big fly. The Eagles, meanwhile, were left to rue missed opportunities as they managed a lone run. BC hasn’t found that big hit that the Seminoles have used twice against them for early momentum and it has cost them the first two games of the series.
Consider this: On Friday, the Eagles were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, 3-for-15 (.200) with runners on, and 0-for-1 in a bases loaded situation. On Saturday, the story repeated. The Eagles were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, 2-for-15 (.133) with runners on, and 0-for-3 with runners on third base with less than two outs. You could pick any form of important situational hitting and chances are BC wasn’t able to get the job done. The Eagles have left 17 men on base in the first two games of the weekend series.
Even the lone run of the game for the Eagles was courtesy of a passed ball by Nelson behind the plate. BC had a real chance to take an early hold of the game with the bases loaded and nobody out in the first inning, but instead Seminoles’ starter Bryce Hubbart struck out three straight batters. It was a missed early opportunity and ultimately set the tone for the rest of the game.
Saturday’s workhorse: Sheehan set down the first nine batters he faced with five strikeouts, a perfect start to the afternoon, but his command betrayed him the second time through the order. He walked Tyler Martin and Logan Lacy on a combined nine pitches, got an out, but still the table was set for Nelson to go deep. Sheehan ran into more trouble in the fifth and gave up a sacrifice fly—and then hit two batters in the sixth—but escaped another jam to turn in another six-inning start.
When he’s on, he’s proven to be nearly unhittable. Lapses in control hurt him against the Seminoles as those two walks proved costly, but he only gave up four hits and struck out nine. Sheehan’s confidence shines through in the way he carries himself on the mound, which is a great sight to see after control issues caused him all kinds of problems in starts prior. Ultimately, it wasn’t a quality start, but Sheehan still pitched at least six innings for the sixth start in a row and boasts 68 strikeouts on the year. He’s turned into a workhorse that the Eagles badly needed to keep some pressure off their bullpen.
Can’t crack the bullpen: Through two games, the Eagles have been unable to get anything against Florida State’s bullpen. This was partially expected coming in—the Seminoles entered first in the conference in bullpen ERA—but it’s also a continuation of a tough trend for BC. As of late the Eagles haven’t been able to get much once opposing teams turn to their relievers. Consider these numbers from the last three weekends, plus FSU so far:
Clemson: 10.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 8 BB, 13 K, 2.53 ERA
Virginia Tech: 16 IP, 12 H, 2 R, 6 BB, 15 K, 1.13 ERA
North Carolina State: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 2.08 ERA
Florida State: 8.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 13 K, 0.00 ERA
That’s just eight runs scored across 39-plus innings after the opponent’s starting pitcher exits a game, and it’s got a big part in why BC has just one win in those 11 games. Florida State used four relievers in Saturday’s win in Chase Haney, Clayton Kwiatkowski, Jack Anderson, and Hunter Perdue and they were all lights out to keep it a four-run game.
Images courtesy of Florida State Athletics.