FSU outlasts Duke in series opener

FSU, looking to redeem itself at the plate after struggling in Tuesday’s […]

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.

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.