Martin’s future uncertain after FSU’s season ends
TALLAHASSEE — After 109 pitches and a lengthy weather delay, Florida State pitcher Drew Parrish took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning to help his team get the final three outs needed to stay alive in the NCAA Tournament.
Unfortunately for longtime head coach Mike Martin and the Seminoles, keeping Parrish in turned out to be the wrong decision.
Down to the final out, Elijah MacNamee hit a three-run, walk-off home run to give Mississippi State a 3-2 victory that sent Bulldogs fans into a wild “SEC” chant and ended FSU’s season after two games in the Tallahassee Regional at Dick Howser Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
“They hadn’t made contact on his changeup all day long — [Parrish] had dominated,” said Martin, who finished his 39th season as Seminoles coach and extended NCAA career wins record with 1,987 victories.
“[Parrish] made a great pitch, and the guy hit it out of the ballpark. It’s something you have to look at and say, ‘That’s baseball.’ … The great game we play can be cruel and that was cruel.”
After the game, Martin was hesitant to discuss his future with his current contract set to expire.
Martin did say he would meet with FSU athletics director Stan Wilcox after Wilcox returns from supporting the Seminoles softball team at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
The Seminoles, on the brink of elimination after a 7-6 upset loss to Samford on Friday night, held a 2-0 lead after eight innings before rain and lightning forced a weather delay lasting 2.5 hours.
Parrish, an All-ACC first team selection who was undefeated this season, pitched an eight-inning shutout, giving up only three hits with six strikeouts before the delay.
Martin insists there was no other player he and the Seminoles wanted on the mound to re-enter the game, adding pitching coach Mike Bell had Parrish pitch every 15 minutes during the delay to ensure he would remain in top form.
“When I was leaving the clubhouse, not one, but at least five guys asked, ‘Is Parrish going back out?’” Martin said.
“They had the person that they wanted. We had the person that we wanted. And if we had to do it over again, we’d have the same person back on that mound.”
Martin might not have admitted the delay affected his team.
But it certainly re-energized Mississippi State, which used the delay to watch the movie “Grown Ups” in the FSU weight room. The rest helped the Bulldogs recover from suffering a 20-10 loss to Oklahoma that lasted four hours and 42 minutes in daytime heat on Friday afternoon.
Facing the top of the MSU order, Parrish gave up a leadoff walk to Jake Magnum, made Rowdey Jordan pop out to second base, struck out Tanner Allen and gave up a walk to cleanup hitter Hunter Stovall.
With two on and two outs, Parrish left his 133rd pitch of the game over the plate and MacNamee launched it to left field, ending FSU’s season in its own regional.
“That pitch was there all day — a change-up,” MacNamee said. “I told myself to scoot up as much as I can in the box and see it up. I knew, after the fastball before that, he was coming with something. I knew he was all over that changeup the whole inning, so I just said keep my hands back and did whatever I can to help this team.”
FSU entered the regional round fresh off winning its second consecutive ACC title, a first for the school.
In the process, Martin led FSU to its 41st consecutive 40-win season and its 41st straight NCAA Tournament with hopes of reaching the College World Series for the second straight season.
FSU second baseman Nick Derr doubled then scored on a wild pitch and throwing error by the catcher in the third inning to give the Seminoles a 1-0 lead. Rhett Aplin added a RBI single up the middle to drive in J.C. Flowers during the fifth inning to help FSU take a 2-0 lead.