Florida State outlasted Duke in a tight matchup on Friday, starting the series off with a 3-1 win.

Wes Mendes got the start for Florida State, with Duke rolling with Aidan Weaver.

After a flyout, Mendes struck out two to begin his outing. FSU, looking to redeem itself at the plate after struggling in Tuesday’s loss to Florida, began the bottom of the first with a 3-2 walk for Brayden Dowd, who stole second and advanced to third off an Eli Putnam groundout. Dowd was left stranded, though, after Myles Bailey and Kelvyn Paulino Jr. both went down swinging.

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The top of the second saw another three-up, three-down frame, with Mendes striking out another two batters.

Hunter Carns got a left field line double and John Stuetzer was walked after, putting two on for FSU with no outs, but the opportunity was squandered after three straight Seminoles’ batters struck out swinging.

Mendes struck out the first two batters of the third before giving up his first hit of the game — a deep center field triple on a 3-2 count that Dowd was unable to field — but a third strikeout (his seventh overall at that point) kept the game locked at 0-0.

After a groundout to start the bottom of the third, Florida State got a lucky break off a throwing error, with Putnam advancing to third after an overthrow to first. Duke walked Bailey, who stole second after Paulino Jr. struck out. Once again, FSU left runners in scoring position stranded, as a Carns strikeout sent things to the fourth.

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Both teams went three up, three down, with Duke registering the third hit of the game off a ground-rule double to begin the fifth. A groundout put the Blue Devils’ runner on third, but Mendes left him stranded after back-to-back strikeouts. The bottom frame was another quick one, with Fisher and Dowd both striking out before a Putnam flyout.

Mendes struck out the first hitter but then gave up two hits (both singles) in the sixth — the Seminoles caught the first runner stealing, the second advanced on a wild pitch. The Blue Devils added another man on base after he was hit by a pitch, but FSU managed to escape without any damage done.

Florida State got a double from Bailey to begin the bottom of the sixth, advancing to third on a wild pitch, getting sent home by a Paulino Jr. single up the middle to put the Seminoles up 1-0. FSU tacked on another run after a one-out Chase Williams RBI sent Carns home from second. Williams stole both second and third, joined by Bavaro on a 3-1 walk to extend the frame and end Weaver’s day as Duke made a change on the mound, the inning ending on a Fisher lineout.

In the top of the seventh, Mendes walked Lambdin, struck out Anderson, then allowed a fielder’s choice to Quagliano — Lambdin thrown out at second — before FSU made the switch to John Abraham. The righty struck out the first batter faced, ending the frame. Florida State couldn’t get anything going, going three up, three down.

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Abraham gave up a right field double to start the eighth, with another double sending the runner home to make it a 2-1 game. That was all the ground Duke made up, though, as a fantastic 5-3-5 double play to third wrapped the frame and kept Florida State ahead.

Paulino Jr. walked to start the bottom of the eighth for FSU. Gabe Fraser came to pinch run, advancing to second on a wild pitch. Duke made another pitching change, after which a Stuetzer bunt advanced the runners, putting them in scoring position with one out. Williams went down swinging, but FSU extended its lead to two once more after Fraser scored on a wild pitch before the inning ended on a Bavaro strikeout.

With one final shot at evening things up, Duke got a lucky break off a throwing error, advancing a runner to second with one out, moving him to third after a groundout. A final strikeout wrapped things up, giving Florida State the win.

Mendes (6-1) struck out 12 in 6.2 (79 strikes on 104 pitches), giving up four hits. Abraham, in 2.1 innings of work, struck out four to earn the save, giving up three hits and one run.