On My Mind Monday: How Many 1-0 Games Has FSU Ever Played in the NCAA Tournament?

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Florida State baseball is riding high after opening the College World Series with a victory for the first time since 1999.

The Seminoles won their fifth straight game over a national seed on Saturday night, topping Arkansas 1-0 in Omaha. It was FSU’s fourth shutout victory of the season and first 1-0 win since 2015. The Seminoles did lose 1-0 to Stetson this season in a no-hit loss on May 8.

The low-scoring contest made one wonder how many 1-0 games that FSU had played in the NCAA Tournament in its history. The number is four with two of those predating Mike Martin’s tenure as head coach.

Here’s a look back on all four occasions:

Florida 1, FSU 0
May 30, 1962 (NCAA Tournament — Gastonia, NC)
Florida State yielded a run to rival Florida in the first inning of the first game of the 1962 NCAA Tournament and that accounted for all the offense. Tom Moore’s RBI triple for the Gators drove home the only run. Florida starter C.W. Price went the distance, throwing a 4-hit shutout. FSU’s Larry Hawkins worked eight innings and took the loss. The good news for FSU is it would win the next four games, including a 3-1 decision over Florida to advance to the College World Series.

Miami 0, FSU 1
May 23, 1975 (NCAA Tournament — Starkville, MS)
Florida State’s first game of the 1975 NCAA Tournament was a 1-0 victory over rival Miami. FSU starter Danny O’Brien tossed a 2-hit complete-game shutout, allowing five walks and striking out eight batters in the win. FSU outfielder Jim Busby’s sacrifice fly in the third inning scored Windle Higginbotham and accounted for the only run of the contest.

Western Carolina 1, FSU 0
May 21, 1992 (NCAA Tournament — Tallahassee, FL)
The first game of the 1992 NCAA Tournament saw FSU come up on the short end of a 1-0 score against Western Carolina in Tallahassee. Starting pitcher Phillip Grundy allowed just three hits and two walks in eight shutout innings for the Catamounts. Matt Raleigh drove in the game’s only run with a sacrifice fly to score Rodney Hennon in the sixth inning. As was the case 30 years earlier, FSU would bounce back to win the next four games to reach the College World Series. The road to Omaha included two wins over Western Carolina by 4-3 and 18-3 scores.

FSU 1, Arkansas 0
June 15, 2019 (College World Series)
After dropping five straight College World Series openers, Florida State broke a scoreless tie on a sacrifice fly from Nander De Sedas to score J.C. Flowers in the top of the ninth. Flowers would work a perfect bottom half to pick up the save. Drew Parrish worked eight shutout innings, striking out nine batters and yielding five hits to get the win. Arkansas’ starter Isaiah Campbell struck out 10 Seminoles and allowed five hits in seven shutout frames.