Oregon
How three innings dictated FSU baseballs loss to Oregon State in Corvallis super regional
FSU baseball’s Link Jarrett talks ejection, Seminoles comeback regional title win
FSU baseball’s Link Jarrett talks ejection, Seminoles comeback regional title win
Florida State baseball’s season ended in heartbreak after Oregon State beat the Seminoles 14-10 in the winner-take-all game three of the Corvallis Super Regional.
Nearly 3,000 miles away from home, the No. 9-seeded Seminoles (42-16) battled No. 8-seeded Oregon State with a berth to the College World Series in Omaha on the line. In a series between two college baseball heavyweights, the Beavers emerged victorious, while FSU begins its journey back to Tallahassee with questions of what could have been.
Over the 28 innings played at Goss Stadium, three innings seemingly were the difference in the series.
FSU gave up 16 runs over three crucial, season-defining innings in the super regional, and that proved to be the difference between a second consecutive trip to Omaha for the first time in over two decades and a heartbreaking flight home to Tallahassee for the Seminoles.
“They played better than we did. I felt like there were three innings, the ninth (game one), the first, and the third (game three) that we could not escape,” FSU head coach Link Jarrett told reporters postgame. “The game revolves around the big inning, and those three were the difference in this series.”
The ninth inning of game one handed Oregon State control of the series
It looked like the Seminoles had sealed a game one victory, leading Oregon State 4-1 going into the ninth with a red-hot Joe Charles on the mound on Friday night.
Fears of a leadoff double leading to a rally seemed to shrink after two quick outs recorded by Charles. However, a five-pitch walk and a pair of singles later dramatically loaded the bases and loosened the Seminoles’ grasp on a victory.
Charles faced Jacob Kreig, who was 1-for-3 with a double to that point of the game, and the first pitch he delivered ran to the backstop and scored a Beaver runner from third base.
The resilient Charles battled back and worked into a 2-2 count, and down to their final strike, Kreig launched a two-run single to tie the game, swinging momentum in favor of the Beavers. The hit ultimately forced extra innings, and after the Seminoles went down 1-2-3 in the top of the 10th, Oregon State walked it off to snatch a game one victory, and more importantly, control of the series.
Since the NCAA implemented super regionals in 1999, the winners of game one of the best-of-three series had gone on to win the series 158 of 200 times, a 79% win rate.
Two home run filled innings ended FSU’s season in Corvallis
The Seminoles tested the odds with a 3-1 win on Saturday, anchored by quality pitching from Jamie Arnold and Peyton Prescott to force a winner-takes-all game.
With all to play for in game three, it looked like the Seminoles had made an early statement of intent as Max Williams launched a two-run home run in the top of the first on Sunday to give FSU a quick 2-0 lead.
Coming off a career-high eight innings pitched vs. Mississippi State, Wes Mendes toed the rubber with hopes of delivering something similar in Corvallis.
However, five hits, two home runs and seven runs later, Mendes exited the game after less than an inning pitched, and a touchdown allowed in the first inning. For the second time in the series, the Beavers had snatched away the momentum from FSU in dramatic fashion.
“This was built around stating pitching, and Wes had been fighting an illness this week, the travel, and the different allergy stuff that’s going on out here for him, he didn’t look like it was as good as I’ve seen it,” Jarrett said.
“You have to have command of secondary pitch. We were trying to get him through it to see if he can find one of the secondary pitches, and you have an all-right-handed lineup. It seemed like if he could get that changeup going, that changeup’s pretty good. But they were on it, and we could not get out of it. That was damage.”
While jarring, a 7-2 lead didn’t feel insurmountable for the Seminoles, and a second inning Chase Williams home run proved FSU wasn’t going to roll over without landing a few counter blows.
But after delivering a staggering right hook in the first inning, the Beavers landed a knockout punch in the third with six runs scored, including a grand slam and a two-run home run to put the game out of FSU’s reach, despite their best comeback efforts.
The Beavers hit four home runs in the two innings, and scored six runs with two outs, with 11 of the 14 runs the team scored coming on the long ball.
The two innings counteracted what was FSU’s best offensive performance of the weekend as the Seminoles outhit their opponent 17-12, and scored runs in all but three innings, and held Oregon State scoreless after the fourth.
And FSU wasn’t without its opportunities to tie the game, as 10 runners were left on base, including two innings that ended with the bases loaded.
Ultimately, missed opportunities and three innings of poor pitch execution out of the 28 innings played in the series sent the Seminoles home, and not to Omaha.
“We fought, we had chances, believe it or not. This game, you could have looked up, and this thing could have been 14-14, and still going,” Jarrett said. “But some of the at-bats, some of those moments, we needed to do a little bit more, and we needed a crooked number.”
“And we were scoring… but we needed that big blow, that big one, and we didn’t get it.”
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
The Oregon Ducks are set for one of the biggest timelines of their recruiting cycle, as many top targets are nearing commitments. This time around, the Ducks have a ton of top targets still remaining on their board compared to past seasons, as the Ducks have eight total commitments at this time.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff still need to land a safety commitment, but three-star safety Elijah Butler out of Maryland recently included the Ducks in his final six schools.
Oregon Target Elijah Butler Makes Exciting Recruiting Announcement
Butler announced his top six schools ahead of a crucial part of his recruitment, according to a graphic by Leyton Roberts. The Ducks made the cut alongside the Maryland Terrapins, Virginia Tech Hokies, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The talented prospect would be a great addition for any of these teams, as they could all use a safety prospect at this point in the recruiting timeline.
Butler is from the state of Maryland, which makes the Terrapins one to watch.
It is also worth noting that he has been labeled as one of the best players in the state of Maryland, as he currently ranks as the state’s No. 9 prospect, according to Rivals. This is important as the Terrapins have always made solid attempts to land their in-state stars, including last season when they landed one of the better players in the state’s history, Zion Elee.
As of now, the prospect hasn’t been predicted to land with any of these schools, which means it is likely still a tight race entering the official visit schedule. He has yet to schedule an official visit with all of the schools he has listed in his top six, as he is still missing three key official visits. Butler has scheduled official visits with Alabama, Auburn, and Florida, according to 247Sports. This means he still needs to set one with Oregon, Virginia Tech, and Maryland if he wants to take one to each school.
If the Ducks are able to get Butler on a visit, then they would likely be in a more favorable position to land his commitment, as it currently. seems they are one of the trailing teams from this list. It seems highly unlikely that the Ducks will gain his commitment unless they get him on an official visit, which is still possible at this point, as plenty of top prospects across the nation are still scheduling their official visits.
As of now, the Ducks have 27 prospects set to take an official visit, according to 247Sports. Among all of the prospects who have scheduled a visit thus far, only one of the players is listed as a safety. That player is a three-star target, Junior Tu’upo. This leads one to believe that the Ducks could try to get Butler on a visit, or at a minimum, pitch their program to the prospect from St Frances Academy.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — The founder of a former disaster relief nonprofit is being sued for allegedly diverting nearly $837,000 in donations and grants for personal gain.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit Thursday against the founder and executive director of Cascade Relief Team (CRT), Marcus Brooks. In the complaint, Rayfield calls CRT “a sham.”
Brooks is accused of stealing donations and government grants meant for disaster relief following wildfires and flooding in 2020, and using it for personal expenses including casino visits, travel, vehicles, and more.
CRT was founded in 2020 and was hired for cleanup and relief services following the Labor Day Wildfires that burned over 1 million acres across Oregon.
In Blue River, an unincorporated community in the McKenzie River Valley, the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire destroyed nearly 800 homes and burned more than 173,000 acres.
I am angry that my community was taken advantage of
Just months after the fire, long-time Blue River resident Melanie Stanley said CRT stepped in and promised help to the community.
“For us, it was…like a savior at that point,” Stanley said.
Stanley was the manager for the Blue River Resource Center and worked for Brooks to help facilitate recovery efforts. She said CRT operations slowly became questionable.
“None of us knew the level at which all of this stuff that finally came out was at,” Stanley said. “We knew that there was some stuff that had started to look hinky or feel hinky, or there was just some lack of communication that was happening. There were some other things that were happening, and so we just all were kind of guarded.”
In fall of 2023 the nonprofit was reported to have run out of money, and Brooks allegedly fired staff without disclosing the organization’s financial conditions and did not notify donors or beneficiaries. Stanley was one of those people fired.
The state now claims the funds that were meant to go towards communities like Blue River, never made it out of Brooks’ hands, including donations given by Blue River neighbors.
“I am angry that my community was taken advantage of, and I am angry that they now have to worry about trusting when something else happens, because we know something else is going to happen,” Stanley said. “We hope to God it’s never anything as big or as bad as what has happened, but you know, we also have learned that groups like Locals Helping Locals…they are our foundation, and they are because they’re us.”
The state is seeking to recover the money, permanently bar Brooks from serving in a leadership role at a charitable organization and dissolve the nonprofit.
Stanley said Brooks’ actions have tainted reputations.
“We as a community and as the people from the community who helped kind of put all of these things together, we did what was asked of us,” Stanley said. “We did help clean things, and we did help get things to provide, you know, more progress and get things moving forward, and we did good work, and so I just really hope that this is not overshadowed.”
According to Stanley, Blue River’s recovery now stands at 50%.
“We will be very picky from here on out about who and what groups gets let in to help with anything,” Stanley said. “And sadly, it may be to our detriment, but he did more damage now, as far as reputations go, and for that I’m angry. I’m very angry.”
-
Lifestyle2 minutes agoHow ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Red Carpet Looks Came Together
-
Technology14 minutes agoThe Vergecast Vergecast, 2026 edition
-
World20 minutes agoMexico pyramid shooter who took hostages and killed 1 is identified
-
Politics26 minutes agoByron Donalds cracks down on persistent border blind spot leaving US vulnerable to overstays
-
Health32 minutes agoHealthy diets spark lung cancer risk in non-smokers as pesticides loom
-
Sports38 minutes agoPGA Tour signals new era with axing of Hawaii events from schedule
-
Technology44 minutes agoAlexa+ lets you order food like a real conversation
-
Business50 minutes agoNew lawsuit alleges Uber is violating drivers’ rights. Here’s how