The No. 8 Florida State Seminoles beat the Duke Blue Devils 12-11 on Saturday at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. While they won the series, star first baseman Myles Bailey suffered a leg injury and was forced to leave in an ambulance.
It was a back-and-forth affair from the start as Duke scored one run in the first to take an early lead. FSU wasn’t down for long as John Stuetzer was hit and Bailey walked to start the inning before an error loaded the bases.
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Brayden Dowd tied it with a single before Eli Putnam put FSU up 2-1 with a fielder’s choice. Hunter Carns and Chase Williams followed it up with singles, putting the Seminoles ahead 4-1.
This time, it was Duke who quickly responded, scoring three runs in the second to tie the game. Trey Beard allowed two singles to start the inning before recording consecutive outs. The final out was elusive as a double and a single tied it before a caught stealing ended the inning.
FSU’s offense once again responded in the bottom of the inning, with Bailey hitting a single, stealing second, and getting to third on an error. Kelvyn Paulino Jr. singled him home, putting FSU back up 5-4. While neither team scored in the third, Duke retook the lead in the fourth inning with a two-run homer.
Brodie Purcell took over for Beard to start the sixth and was quickly in trouble, giving up a two-out double before a throwing error by Cal Fisher allowed a run to score, putting Duke up 7-5. Beard allowed six runs in five innings on eight hits and a walk with five strikeouts.
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Bailey made sure FSU didn’t trail long, hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to tie it up. It was his 13th homer of the season.
Another single by Paulino kept it going before an Eli Putnam single got him to third, and Hunter Carns drove him in with a single, putting the Seminoles up 8-7. FSU got some breathing room in the seventh inning as Duke intentionally walked Bailey with one out to load the bases. The decision did not pay off as three consecutive walks allowed FSU to take an 11-7 lead.
Duke wasn’t going to go down easily, though, scoring four more runs in the eighth inning to tie it at 11-11. FSU also walked in a run during the inning as the Blue Devils used five hits, two walks, and a wild pitch to tie the game.
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The Seminoles were able to score the winning run in the bottom of the inning when Carter McCulley hit a leadoff single and got to third after two sacrifices. Duke intentionally walked Bailey, whom they tried to pick off, but the throw got away, allowing McCulley to score and Bailey to be injured.
FSU will go for the sweep against Duke on Sunday. The game is set to start at 1 p.m. ET.
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU Seminoles beat Duke to win series