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In his 1970s rock ballad, Meat Loaf sang Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad, which translates well to sports.
But winning one out of three? That’s what the Miami Hurricanes have been doing almost every weekend lately.
It happened again Sunday, when the host Canes lost 5-1 to No. 8 Florida State, giving the Seminoles the decisive game of the three-game series.
Since Miami’s trip to Gainesville on March 1, the Canes have won just 1 out of 3 in five of their past six series. The only exception was Virginia Tech, a team the Canes beat twice.
“It’s not enough,” Canes second baseman Alex Hernandez said of his team’s recent trend. “But we can’t put our heads down.”
The Canes (21-14, 6-9 Atlantic Coast Conference), who are in last place in the ACC’s Coastal Division, got off to a good start in Sunday’s first inning when Hernandez hit a one-out double on a grounder just inside the third-base bag. Hernandez later scored on an FSU error.
But FSU (27-5, 10-5), in first place in the ACC’s Atlantic Division, took the lead for good with two runs in the second. After two bloop hits and a bunt single loaded the bases with no outs, Giovanny Alfonzo lofted a sacrifice fly to center.
The second run scored on a wild pitch by Canes starter Andrew Suarez that was high and off the glove of catcher Garrett Kennedy.
FSU added two runs in the third and one in the fourth to knock Suarez (2-2) out of the game. The Seminoles also got excellent starting pitching from Scott Sitz, who was far from overpowering but still managed to hold Miami to six hits, no walks and just the one unearned run in eight innings.
“I think we were taking too many pitches, looking at too many strikes,” Hernandez said. “We need to start swinging.”
FSU now has won four consecutive series against Miami. The last time the Canes took a series against FSU was in 2009.
There are, however, some positives for Miami:
• FSU entered the series ranked second in the nation in doubles with 74. But in three games vs. against Miami, they the Seminoles had just three extra-base hits, all doubles.
• Miami has beaten three top-10 teams, once each, this season: No. 1 North Carolina, No. 5 Virginia and No. 8 FSU.
• The Canes’ middle relievers, who have struggled this year, combined to throw five shutout innings Sunday thanks to Thomas Woodrey and A.J. Salcines.
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