JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- Jacksonville Baseball (2-1) was defeated by the Florida State Seminoles (3-0) at John Sessions Stadium on Tuesday night, 7-4.

The Dolphins competed and fought hard throughout the game, charging back from a 4-1 deficit, but their valiant efforts fell short as the Seminoles took the game late.

"I was super proud of our guys continuing to fight throughout the game, and battling back to 4-4" said head coach Chris Hayes. "Was really proud of our effort against a really good squad."

Veteran Richard Long started on the mound for Jacksonville. The junior from Middleburg worked two innings and recorded two strikeouts while surrendering two walks. Long was given a no decision.

The Seminoles were in business early, as they loaded the bases in the first inning. Long was able to strike out the clean-up hitter for the first out of the inning but couldn't escape all of the trouble as a two-RBI single put the Seminoles on the board, 2-0. Long prevented any further damage in the inning, after he stranded the last two runners.

While the Dolphins had trouble getting the bats going through the first three innings they still had competitive at-bats. Blake Barquin came in to relieve Long after two innings. Barquin threw a pair of scoreless innings, keeping the Dolphins well within reach of the 2-0 deficit that FSU had created.

Will Gale recorded Jacksonville's their first hit to lead off the home half of the fourth, and proceeded to steal second base, and stole third on a throwing error by the catcher. That sequence of events set up Tanner Zellem, who hit a successful sacrifice fly that scored Gale from third, which cut the JU deficit to 2-1.

In the top of the fifth, the Noles' three-hole hitter slapped a base hit into right field, scoring a run to make it 3-1, Florida State. A sacrifice fly brought in another run for the Seminoles to make it 4-1 as FSU responded to Jacksonville's run with two themselves. 

Barquin worked a quick top of the sixth, and the top of the order was due up next for Jacksonville. A one-out walk to Jaden Bastian gave the Dolphins a base runner that immediately paid off with an RBI triple off the bat of Zellem, which cut the Florida State lead to 4-2. Later in the inning, Josh Steidl delivered a two-out RBI double to cut the Florida State lead to 4-3, and Nick Delisi would come up to bat and hit in the game-tying run to bring JU back from three down to knotted at four.

"Our young guys were able to have some really valuable at-bats," further added Hayes. "It was a great experience for them especially early on in the season."

After Barquin sat down the first two batters in the seventh, Isaac Williams came in to try to nail down the Seminoles. Barquin threw 4.2 innings, and gave up two runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out two. Williams got a strikeout to send the Dolphins up to bat at the bottom of the seventh.

Following a scoreless eighth inning, Chris Lotito took over on the mound to start the ninth in a tied ball game. Williams pitched one and a third innings, and surrendered just two hits and no runs.

The top of the order was due for the Seminoles in the ninth inning for Lotito to face. The redshirt junior from New Jersey struck out the leadoff man, but three straight base runners, which included a double, and a wild pitch saw the Seminoles take a ninth inning lead at 6-4. With two outs and a runner on third, a sacrifice fly would cap the FSU damage, and suddenly the Seminoles had a three run lead.

Jacksonville's Peyton Prescott drew a one-out walk in the home half of the ninth, but three strikeouts from the FSU closer prevented a second three-run comeback from the Dolphins, and clinched the victory for Florida State.

"It's a blessing every time we get to go out on the field and play," said Hayes. "We are going to use this game as a building block and a next step as we continue to get better and fight for our goals."

Three Strikes:
1. Tanner Zellem led the Dolphins with two RBIs.
2. Blake Barquin threw 4.2 innings out of the bullpen.
3. Nick Delisi and Josh Steidl both registered an RBI.

On Deck:
Jacksonville will return to John Sessions Stadium on Friday, February 23, to take on the Delaware Blue Hens in a weekend series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 pm, and live stats can be followed on JUDolphins.com