After 109 pitches and a two plus hour rain delay, FSU pitcher Drew Parrish took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning to help the Noles get the final three outs needed to stay alive in the NCAA tournament.
Keeping Parrish in ended in heartbreak for Mike Martin and Florida State.
Down to the final out, Elijah MacNamee hit a three-run, walk-off home run to give Mississippi State the win and eliminating the Noles.
“They hadn’t made contact on his changeup all day long – [Parrish] had dominated,” said Martin, who finished his 39th season as Seminoles coach extending the NCAA record for all-time wins 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.”
“I’m in a little bit of state of ‘did that really just happen?’” Martin said in shock.
“I’ll get over it, but it really does hurt. … Let’s hope that we can put a team on the field next year that will draw the attention of our great fans. We’ll see what we can do from next year.”
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