Another Tuesday in March, another loss for the Florida State baseball team against rival Florida.

The Seminoles have been scorching hot for most of the month, but they can’t figure out a way to take care of their rivals from Gainesville.

For the second time in three weeks, Florida State was shut down by the UF pitching staff, this time to the tune of a 5-0 loss on Tuesday in Jacksonville.

Florida State is now 0-2 against the Gators on the year and 19-3 against everyone else — with many of those wins coming against highly ranked opponents.

The first loss in the split series was a 6-3 defeat in Gainesville, in which the Seminoles struck out 18 times. And somehow, Tuesday night was actually worse. Fresh off a series win over then-No. 10 North Carolina State, which included a 15-5 run-rule victory on Sunday, Florida State managed just four hits and struck out 16 times in the loss.

In 18 innings against UF this year, FSU has now struck out 34 times and gotten just 10 hits in 62 at-bats (a .161 batting average).

Florida scored the only run it would need in the second inning when a ball got by left-fielder Chase Williams for a one-out triple. An error by Myles Bailey put another Florida runner on base, and then a squeeze bunt scored a run.

It was the only run FSU starter Cooper Whited would allow. The lefty was solid in his 3 2/3 innings of work, giving up just three hits and the one run while striking out four and walking none.

The game got away from the Seminoles with hard-throwing reliever Cole Stokes on the mound. The Oregon transfer was charged with four runs despite not giving up a hit in his 2 2/3 innings of work. That’s because he walked six batters. He also hit a batter. He left with the bases loaded in the seventh after walking in a run to make it 2-0.

The Gators then got back-to-back RBI singles off reliever Cade O’Leary to put the game out reach.

Every starter in the FSU lineup struck out at least once. Eli Putnam went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, and John Stuetzer went 1-for-4 with a double and three strikeouts.

Kelvyn Paulino had a triple for the only other extra base-hit for the Seminoles.

It wasn’t as if the Florida offense was much better. The Gators, coming off getting swept at Alabama, only had five hits on the night. And in fact, in the two games, they have exactly one more hit (11) than FSU does (10).

But the Gators have the two wins. Thanks in large part to those 34 strikeouts by the pitching staff.

And thanks to the 17 walks issued by FSU pitchers.

The Seminoles will be back in action this Friday night at home when they start a three-game ACC series with Duke.

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