FSU coach Mike Martin tips his cap to the crowd at McKethan Stadium prior to Tuesday night's game. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: A Most Unusual Night at The Mac
Wednesday, March 13, 2019 | Baseball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It was the rarest of moments at McKethan Stadium. Gators fans usually boo the man who simply goes by "11" over in Tallahassee. They boo loudest when 11 takes one of his leisurely strolls from the dugout to the mound to rescue his pitcher.
Florida State coach Mike Martin took several of those walks on Tuesday night, a 20-7 loss that at times resembled a live production of "The Bad News Bears." Too much so for Martin's liking.
"It would have been OK with me if there was a clock involved,'' Martin quipped afterward.
In the first meeting of the season between the Gators and Seminoles – both entered ranked in the top 10 – Tuesday's matchup carried a special significance. Martin, in his 40th and final season as FSU's head coach, made his last regular-season visit to UF.
The first time Martin brought the Seminoles to Gainesville in April 1980, UF head coach Kevin O'Sullivan was in elementary school. Martin's legendary run and final season is one of the biggest storylines of college baseball in 2019. Baseball America plastered him on the cover recently in its season-preview issue.
Martin arrived at the ballpark Tuesday two days after collecting his 2,000th career win, more victories than any coach in the history of NCAA athletics regardless of sport.
O'Sullivan and Florida fans pair their respect.
Before the first pitch, O'Sullivan presented Martin with a customized golf bag and a gift basket that included a Canadian river cruise on behalf of the Gators. The two veteran coaches embraced, temporarily extinguishing their competitive fires that has made the Florida-Florida State rivalry one of the nation's best for decades.
Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan and Florida State coach Mike Martin exchange greetings at the plate prior to Tuesday night's game. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Martin even got a standing ovation in a place that has not treated him well during the latter stage of his career. The Gators improved to 15-2 against the Seminoles at home under O'Sullivan, who took over the program in 2008 and turned the rivalry in Florida's favor.
It was a classy gesture and one that Martin, one of his sport's greatest ambassadors, deserves for a distinguished career that has included every accolade possible other than for a national championship.
Once the game started, it looked as if Martin's swan song at McKethan was going to provide a winning bus ride back to Tallahassee. The Seminoles led 6-0 after J.C. Flowers blasted a grand slam off Gators reliever Nolan Crisp with two outs in the fifth.
The rest is a blur.
The Gators sent 23 batters to the plate over the next two innings, scoring 13 runs on eight hits, assisted by errors, wild pitches, stolen bases, big hits and slow dribblers.
"It puts people into a tailspin,'' O'Sullivan said of the array of oddities. "It got away from them a little bit, just like it did us [early]."
O'Sullivan said he couldn't recall a game so clearly defined by two halves. The first half belonged to FSU, the second to Florida, which defeated the Seminoles for the ninth consecutive time overall. The 20 runs were the most the Gators had scored against FSU since March 8, 1980.
You want perspective: that was Martin's 10th game as the Seminoles' head coach. Tuesday was his 2,719th game.
A rare night indeed in Martin's goodbye to Gainesville (unless FSU returns here in the postseason).
"We've got some things that we need to be sure we don't ever let happen again," Martin said. "Things that have never happened before in our practices. We've just got to throw this one away."
The Gators' rally was capped by a pair of home runs in the eighth, a grand slam by freshman Kendrick Calilao and a two-run shot by pinch-hitter Blake Reese.
Only Albert and Alberta could have envisioned the Gators scoring 20 of the game's final 21 runs after Flowers' grand slam.
"It was kind of quiet,'' Dalton said. "I wouldn't say we were like, 'oh, this game's over.' That's never really been a thing for us."
They proved that in one of the most stunning turnarounds you're likely to see this season.
Florida faces FSU two more times before Martin has use for that new golf bag, once in Jacksonville and once in Tallahassee. You can be sure the Seminoles will want to return the favor. And we're not talking about gifts for O'Sullivan at home plate before the game.
The Florida-FSU rivalry will be different without Martin, much the same way the football rivalry changed when Steve Spurrier departed for the NFL and Bobby Bowden retired. The faces change, the rivalry lives on.
Great rivalries create moments we all remember. That's what happened on a cool March evening at McKethan Stadium on Tuesday night. First, the Gators honored Martin. Next, the Seminoles struck loudly. Finally, the Gators exploded.
"It's never over,'' O'Sullivan said. "This isn't going to be the norm."
He's right about that. There was nothing normal about this one.
