No. 10 Florida State Tops Duke, 3-1, in Series Opener

Friday, March 27

Tallahassee, Fla.

6 p.m.

Duke University

Florida State

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 10 Florida State Tops Duke, 3-1, in Series Opener

3/27/2026 8:50:00 PM | Baseball

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Aidan Weaver punched out a career-high 11and threw 5.2 innings of two-run ball, but Duke dropped the series opener at No. 10 Florida State, 3-1, on Friday at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium.

Weaver and FSU starter Wes Mendes (6-1) matched each other nearly pitch for pitch with Mendes going 6.2 and scattering four hits with a walk and 12 whiffs.

The Seminoles struck for two in the bottom of the sixth on a pair of RBI singles and added another on a wild pitch in the eighth while Duke received a Tyler Albright RBI double in the eighth but could not force a tie.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Neither team scored in the first inning, with Duke starter Aidan Weaver punching out two straight to end the bottom half of the first after the leadoff batter reached third on a walk, stolen base and groundout.
Weaver continued the escapes in the next inning after a leadoff double and walk put two on with nobody out. The senior punched out the next three batters, all on swinging strikes, to move the game to the third frame.
Brooks Perez gave Duke its first hit of the afternoon, with a two-out triple, but the game moved to the home half still scoreless. A throwing error allowed Florida State to reach third base with one out in the bottom of the third. Weaver continued to rack up the strikeouts, with two more, to move the scoreless game to the fourth.
Jake Lambdin led off the top of the fifth with a ground-rule double, his 13th two-bagger of the season, but Wes Mendes got the three outs required to send bring Florida State back to bat.
Duke threatened again in the top of the sixth but was held off the board. With two outs, RJ Hamilton singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Kaden Smith was then hit by a pitch, but a fielder's choice ended the threat.
After the hold, the Seminoles broke through with a pair of runs for a 2-0 lead. Myles Bailey led off with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch. A Kelvyn Paulino single plated Bailey. After a fielder's choice and strikeout, Chase Williams brought in another with a single up the middle. A walk chased Weaver, but Marcello Mastorianni limited the damage with a lineout to left.
Duke answered in the eighth to make it a 2-1 game. Perez and Tyler Albright hit consecutive doubles to start the frame. A strikeout and double play groundout kept it a one-run affair.
The Seminoles added another insurance run in the bottom of the eighth for a 3-1 contest. After back-to-back walks started the inning, a sacrifice bunt and strikeout left runners on second and third with two outs. A wild pitch brought in the third run before a strikeout ended the frame.
Duke got a Lambdin one-out single and he advanced to second on a throwing error but could go no further as FSU ended the game with a groundout and strikeout.
After Weaver, Mastorianni went 1.1 innings and allowed one run on two walks and two strikeouts. Roman DiGiacomo threw the final inning, fanning two Seminoles.
Florida State got 6.2 innings from Mendes and 2.1 from John Abraham, who earned his third save by throwing 2.1 frames and limiting Duke to one run on three hits to go with four strikeouts.