Florida State baseball its opportunities Thursday night, but strikeouts and one big inning sunk the Seminoles in their series opener with Virginia. The Cavaliers struck for four runs in the bottom of the fourth and held on from there for the 4-3 win.

The Seminoles were poised to strike in the top of the first after Brayden Down started the game with a hit by pitch. Noah Sheffield then reached by error, an error that placed the runners at second and third. Unfortunately, the next three Seminole batters — Hunter Carns, Kelvyn Paulino and Eli Putnam — all struck out. Wes Mendes sat down Virginia 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first.

Both offenses were relatively quiet in the second and third innings with only two UVA baserunners. FSU picked up a two out double in the fourth from Putnam, but John Stuetzer fanned to end the threat. Mendes picked up a quick out to start the fourth before allowing three straight hits that scored two Cavalier runs. Mendes finally recorded out number two but followed that up by allowing a two-run no-doubter over the right field fence.

The Seminoles struck right back in the top of the fifth, started by a Stuetzer single. Dowd reached by error and Noah Sheffield made the game 4-1 with an RBI double. Carns followed that up with a two-run RBI single. Paulino grounded out to end the inning with FSU down 4-3.

Mendes finished the fifth with a final line of 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Chris Knier took the mound in the sixth and kept Virginia off the board for the remainder of the game.

From the top of the sixth inning forward, Seminole batters went 0-12 with four strikeouts. As a whole, the FSU offense fanned 11 times for the game. The loss of Myles Bailey looms large as the offense will need to bounce back tomorrow at 2 p.m. in game two to avoid the team’s first series loss in conference play.

Authorities arrested a woman at a home near The Villages after the homeowner told deputies the woman had been staying there without permission and sold a washer and dryer from the residence, according to an arrest affidavit.

Candice Meshelle Mackey, 40, was charged with grand theft and dealing in stolen property after investigators said a neighbor told them he bought the washer-and-dryer set from her for $150 and another witness identified the appliances as ones previously kept inside the home.

According to an arrest affidavit from the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, the homeowner, identified as Denise Lombardi, told police that the appliance came with the home and belonged to the residence.

She also claimed that Mackey was a squatter and had repeatedly been told to leave, but continued to stay at the home. The single family home, in Summerfield, is near The Villages, a sprawling 55+ housing community in Central Florida.

The owner told police, according to the affidavit, that she had gone to the residence a couple of months ago and realized Mackey had been squatting there.

Lombardi’s nephew, identified as James, who was paying rent at the home, invited Mackey to stay with him without permission.

Despite being ordered from the house in December, she still had not left and was served a notice to vacate by March 31.

A neighbor first alerted the homeowner after he bought a Frigidaire washer and dryer that Mackey was selling for $150.

The buyer later told law enforcement that his washer and dryer stopped working, so when he noticed Mackey moving out, he bought what he thought was hers for $150. Once he found out the set did not belong to her, he tried to return it and get his money back without success, the report said.

Mackey told deputies she had purchased the appliances after being released from jail, but investigators said she gave conflicting accounts of when she bought them and could not provide proof they were hers.

She was arrested on charges of grand theft, a property value of $750 to $5,000, and dealing in stolen property. She was booked in the Marion County Jail and released after posting $5,000 bond.