Florida State University Athletics
Friday, March 6
Tallahassee, Fla.
6:00 PM
Florida State
11-2
7
vs
3
Northern Kentucky
7-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Northern Kentucky
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
3
1
1
Florida State
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
X
7
10
1
Mendes Strikes Out 12 as Noles One-Hit Norse
3/6/2026 10:40:00 PM | Baseball
TALLAHASSEE – Junior left-handed starter Wes Mendes struck out a career-best 12 batters as the No. 20 Florida State baseball team one-hit Northern Kentucky in a 7-3 win on Friday night to begin the three-game series.
As the Seminoles (11-2) won their seventh in a row, Mendes took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and held the Norse (7-5) to one earned run on one hit with 12 strikeouts in 5.1 innings to improve to 4-0 on the season. The FSU offense countered with single runs in all but one inning to end a five-game NKU win streak.
Mendes' 12 strikeouts are the most by a Seminole since Jamie Arnold fanned 17 on May 10, 2024, against Pitt. Six of Mendes' 12 strikeouts came in the first two innings, as he struck out the side in the first and second. He also struck out two in the fourth and fifth.
Junior right-hander Chris Knier relieved Mendes in the sixth inning and followed with 3.2 innings of no-hit ball. He struck out four and did not walk a batter to earn his second save. Mendes and Knier combined to allow three runs, one earned, on one hit with 16 strikeouts and four walks.
Offensively, sophomore right fielder Noah Sheffield and freshman third baseman Will Bavaro both homered for the second consecutive game, the second long-ball of each of their careers. Both had two RBI, and Bavaro had a game-high-tying two hits.
FSU scored seven runs on 10 hits and NKU scored three runs on one hit. Both teams committed one error.
The Seminoles improve to 2-0 all-time against Northern Kentucky, as the two teams meet for the first time since 1980.
Sheffield's one-out solo home run to left field in the first inning gave Florida State the early 1-0 lead. Bavaro doubled home freshman designated hitter Kelvyn Paulino Jr. with two outs in the second inning to make it 2-0.
Northern Kentucky tied the game at 2-2 in the third, as back-to-back walks led off the inning and a throwing error scored both runs. Mendes limited the damage with a foul-out, groundout and strikeout to leave a runner on third.
A Sheffield groundout gave the Seminoles the lead back in the third, 3-2, and a fourth-inning groundout doubled the advantage back to two at 4-2.
The Norse got their first hit, and scored their final run, in the sixth to make it 4-3. A leadoff walk, one-out single and walk loaded the bases and led to the end of Mendes' night. Knier came in and got a fielder's choice groundout to score a run before a strikeout ended the inning with the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second.
Bavaro provided the FSU answer in the bottom of the sixth, as Bavaro led off the frame with a homer to left. That extended the lead back to 5-3, and Paulino Jr. made it 6-3 with a run-scoring single in the seventh.
One more in the eighth made it 7-3, with a groundout by sophomore first baseman Myles Bailey bringing home the last run of the night.
Knier got the final three outs in the ninth to complete his night where he faced 11 batters and got 11 outs, including 10 in a row following the fielder's choice groundout in the sixth.
The series continues on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET and concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets are available at Seminoles.com/Tickets or by calling the FSU ticket office at 850-644-1830. Admission is free for all FSU students with their FSUID, with the student entrance at the right field gate at Haggard Plaza. All gates at Dick Howser Stadium will open 60 minutes prior to first pitch for every game in 2026.
Each regular-season Saturday home game is Military Saturday Presented by VyStar, with military recognitions and the playing of God Bless America during the seventh inning stretch. Every Sunday regular-season home game is Sunday Funday, where Kids Club members and youth wearing their little league jerseys will be admitted free, and kids 12 and under will be allowed to run the bases postgame. It's also Student Weekend, with opportunities for students to win prizes and double Spear It Rewards points for students on Saturday.
Both games will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra (Saturday | Sunday), accessible through your television provider or a subscription to ESPN+. Fans can listen to every game via the Seminole Sports Network, with Friday and Sunday's games on WFLA 100.7 FM and Saturday's contest on 96.5 FM The Spear Every game also is available around the world on the Seminoles Unconquered App and Seminoles.com. Live stats are at FSU.Statbroadcast.com (Saturday | Sunday). Direct links to watch, listen and follow along can be found on the schedule page at Seminoles.com/Baseball. News, notes and behind-the-scenes updates all weekend are available by following and connecting with the team on social media on Twitter/X and Facebook (@FSUBaseball) and Instagram (@NoleBaseball).
For more information on Florida State baseball, check Seminoles.com for the latest news and scheduling information, and keep up with the team on social media through Twitter/X and Facebook (@FSUBaseball) & Instagram (@NoleBaseball).
As the Seminoles (11-2) won their seventh in a row, Mendes took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and held the Norse (7-5) to one earned run on one hit with 12 strikeouts in 5.1 innings to improve to 4-0 on the season. The FSU offense countered with single runs in all but one inning to end a five-game NKU win streak.
Mendes' 12 strikeouts are the most by a Seminole since Jamie Arnold fanned 17 on May 10, 2024, against Pitt. Six of Mendes' 12 strikeouts came in the first two innings, as he struck out the side in the first and second. He also struck out two in the fourth and fifth.
Junior right-hander Chris Knier relieved Mendes in the sixth inning and followed with 3.2 innings of no-hit ball. He struck out four and did not walk a batter to earn his second save. Mendes and Knier combined to allow three runs, one earned, on one hit with 16 strikeouts and four walks.
Offensively, sophomore right fielder Noah Sheffield and freshman third baseman Will Bavaro both homered for the second consecutive game, the second long-ball of each of their careers. Both had two RBI, and Bavaro had a game-high-tying two hits.
FSU scored seven runs on 10 hits and NKU scored three runs on one hit. Both teams committed one error.
The Seminoles improve to 2-0 all-time against Northern Kentucky, as the two teams meet for the first time since 1980.
Sheffield's one-out solo home run to left field in the first inning gave Florida State the early 1-0 lead. Bavaro doubled home freshman designated hitter Kelvyn Paulino Jr. with two outs in the second inning to make it 2-0.
Northern Kentucky tied the game at 2-2 in the third, as back-to-back walks led off the inning and a throwing error scored both runs. Mendes limited the damage with a foul-out, groundout and strikeout to leave a runner on third.
A Sheffield groundout gave the Seminoles the lead back in the third, 3-2, and a fourth-inning groundout doubled the advantage back to two at 4-2.
The Norse got their first hit, and scored their final run, in the sixth to make it 4-3. A leadoff walk, one-out single and walk loaded the bases and led to the end of Mendes' night. Knier came in and got a fielder's choice groundout to score a run before a strikeout ended the inning with the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second.
Bavaro provided the FSU answer in the bottom of the sixth, as Bavaro led off the frame with a homer to left. That extended the lead back to 5-3, and Paulino Jr. made it 6-3 with a run-scoring single in the seventh.
One more in the eighth made it 7-3, with a groundout by sophomore first baseman Myles Bailey bringing home the last run of the night.
Knier got the final three outs in the ninth to complete his night where he faced 11 batters and got 11 outs, including 10 in a row following the fielder's choice groundout in the sixth.
The series continues on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET and concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets are available at Seminoles.com/Tickets or by calling the FSU ticket office at 850-644-1830. Admission is free for all FSU students with their FSUID, with the student entrance at the right field gate at Haggard Plaza. All gates at Dick Howser Stadium will open 60 minutes prior to first pitch for every game in 2026.
Each regular-season Saturday home game is Military Saturday Presented by VyStar, with military recognitions and the playing of God Bless America during the seventh inning stretch. Every Sunday regular-season home game is Sunday Funday, where Kids Club members and youth wearing their little league jerseys will be admitted free, and kids 12 and under will be allowed to run the bases postgame. It's also Student Weekend, with opportunities for students to win prizes and double Spear It Rewards points for students on Saturday.
Both games will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra (Saturday | Sunday), accessible through your television provider or a subscription to ESPN+. Fans can listen to every game via the Seminole Sports Network, with Friday and Sunday's games on WFLA 100.7 FM and Saturday's contest on 96.5 FM The Spear Every game also is available around the world on the Seminoles Unconquered App and Seminoles.com. Live stats are at FSU.Statbroadcast.com (Saturday | Sunday). Direct links to watch, listen and follow along can be found on the schedule page at Seminoles.com/Baseball. News, notes and behind-the-scenes updates all weekend are available by following and connecting with the team on social media on Twitter/X and Facebook (@FSUBaseball) and Instagram (@NoleBaseball).
For more information on Florida State baseball, check Seminoles.com for the latest news and scheduling information, and keep up with the team on social media through Twitter/X and Facebook (@FSUBaseball) & Instagram (@NoleBaseball).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mendes, Wes (4-0)
L: Wilson, Logan (0-1)
S: Knier, Chris (2)
Batting:
RBI: Harrison, Marcus 1
SH: Friedberg, Hunter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nowak, Mark 1 ; Brazer, Alex 1 ; Springmeyer, Landon 1
Batting:
2B: Bavaro, Will 1 ; Paulino Jr., Kelvyn 1 ; Carns, Hunter 2 ; Putnam, Eli 1
HR: Bavaro, Will 1 ; Sheffield, Noah 1
RBI: Bavaro, Will 2 ; Paulino Jr., Kelvyn 1 ; Stuetzer, John 1 ; Bailey, Myles 1 ; Sheffield, Noah 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Bavaro, Will 1 ; Williams, Chase 1 ; Fisher, Cal 1 ; Paulino Jr., Kelvyn 1 ; Stuetzer, John 1 ; McCulley, Carter 1 ; Sheffield, Noah 1
SB: Stuetzer, John 1
CS: Bavaro, Will 1
HBP: Fisher, Cal 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
1B
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
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