UCLA falls to Florida State to open NCAA baseball tournament's Auburn Regional

Jordan Carrion hit his first triple of the season, Alex Toral added an insurance run in the ninth inning with a home run, and No. 3 seed Florida State beat second-seeded UCLA 5-3 on Friday in the Seminoles’ 44th consecutive NCAA baseball regional appearance.

Carrion brought in two runs with his fifth-inning triple to give Florida State (34-23) a 3-0 lead in the first game of the Auburn Regional. Toral hit his 15th home run of the season in the ninth for a two-run lead.

Florida State starter Parker Messick (7-5) gave up two runs in five innings and struck out four to earn the win. Davis Hare picked up his fourth save of the season with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

The Bruins (38-23) had two runners on with one out in the eighth, but they scored only one run on a wild pitch to get to within 4-3.

UCLA starter Max Rajcic (8-5) surrendered four runs and five hits in six innings and took the loss.

Right fielder Michael Curialle helped the Bruins end the top of the fifth with a double play on a flyout, throwing out Carrion at home.

UCLA scored twice in the bottom of the fifth. Carson Yates hit a solo homer to left field, his sixth of the season, and Jake Palmer had an RBI single with two outs.

In the NCAA regionals' double-elimination format, the Bruins will face the loser of Friday's second game — No. 4 seed Southeastern Louisiana, which fell 19-7 to No. 1 seed Auburn — on Saturday at 10 a.m. PDT in an elimination game.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.