Philly Leader

The University of Pennsylvania baseball team faced a challenging start to their season, falling 24-2 against the ninth-ranked Florida State University in Tallahassee. The game, held at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium, saw Penn struggle offensively against FSU's Jamie Arnold, who is recognized as the Preseason National Pitcher of the Year.

Junior Ryan Taylor led Penn's efforts with two doubles, contributing two out of the team's four hits. Gavin Collins and Asa Wilson added one hit each. On the mound, Josh Katz took the loss after starting for Penn, while Marshall Mott struck out two batters in relief without allowing any earned runs.

Davis Baker extended his reached-base streak to 17 games despite his hitting streak ending at 16 games.

FSU's Jamie Arnold demonstrated dominance early on by retiring the first two Quakers before Gavin Collins managed a single. Katz allowed three consecutive singles leading to an early 5-0 lead for FSU after one inning. Taylor’s double in the second inning was left uncapitalized as Arnold struck out subsequent batters.

FSU continued to extend their lead with additional runs in each inning, including a significant contribution from Drew Faurot with a three-run homer in the fourth inning. Andrew Miehe relieved Aidan von Zuben and managed a scoreless fifth inning for Penn.

In the sixth inning, Penn scored its only runs due to an error that allowed Baker to score and an RBI double by Taylor bringing home Collins. However, FSU sealed their victory with seven more runs in that same inning.

The teams are set to meet again on Saturday for the second game of their three-game series, which will be available via live stream on ACC Network Extra.

For updates on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, or visit PennAthletics.com.