The last 18 months of Jacob Marlowe’s life haven’t gone exactly to plan, at least not until Friday, February 21, when Marlowe’s performance in a 24-2 win over Penn was singled out by Florida State coach Link Jarrett as “the story of the game.”
To appreciate Jarrett’s quote, we must go back to fall 2023, when the UCF transfer pitcher was slated to start until a routine medical exam. Marlowe told the Osceola, the doctors said: “You wanna call your mom for this.” His aortic heart valve had narrowed and the childhood condition now required open-heart surgery.
“I was on the call when the doctor said, ‘I recommend Jacob having surgery sooner than later,’” Jacob’s mother Janet told the Osceola. “We were in shock.” The family specialist agreed. Jacob’s heart function was at 53 percent. Baseball became an afterthought as he prepped for surgery in Boston in October 2023.
“It went from something that seemed a little innocent at first to absolutely serious,” FSU pitching coach Micah Posey told the Osceola. Marlowe’s failing valve was replaced with a pig valve, but a suture holding the valve together broke. “I’m in bed, just chilling, and they rushed me to get a temporary pacemaker put in until they did the second surgery,” the left-handed pitcher said.
The extended stay took a toll. “Honestly, after the first surgery, he wasn’t in a good place mentally,” Janet said. “When am I gonna be back to normal?”
Jacob’s high-school coach at Barron Collier High, Charlie Maurer, put things in perspective on a Boston visit. “He’s the one that put the baseball in his hand (in the hospital) and was like, ‘Look, this is what you wanna get back to,’” Janet said.
After two open-heart surgeries and a tube in his lung, Marlowe began a long journey. “My first question before surgery was, ‘How fast can I get back to the field?’” Marlowe said. “I think that’s what honestly pushed me to get better at a quicker rate.” His FSU coaches, Jarrett and Posey, checked in on him regularly. “They were just overall awesome,” Marlowe said.
The sternum takes three months to heal, so he didn’t throw on a mound for six months and started in the pitching lab. “We were just doing really light throwing, making sure everything was ok,” Marlowe said. “Sometimes I’d hear a pop in my chest, that scar tissue trying to break, which is good. But it was just a weird feeling.”
Teammates made him feel included. Watching from the dugout, he had a great view of FSU’s 2024 turnaround. “Yes, I would have loved to be a part of it and do something for the team, but overall, I really enjoyed just being around them and as supportive as I could,” Marlowe said.
While FSU was at the College World Series, Marlowe made his debut for the Brewster Whitecaps in the prestigious Cape Cod League on June 16, 2024. “I just remember I felt like my heart was racing and it was actually really good,” Marlowe said. “I had a great outing.” “It was a very emotional moment,” said Janet, who spent June on the Cape watching.
Marlowe threw in eight games, with two starts, recording a 2.95 ERA over 18.1 innings, with 14 strikeouts and two walks, but he didn’t feel like himself until FSU’s fall camp.
On Friday, February 21, in Dick Howser Stadium, Marlowe took the next step in his journey, the one that drew high praise from Jarrett. Though he only threw 1.1 innings of two-hit, shutout relief, Jarrett called it the story of the 24-2 win because he knew the whole story.
“Being around the guys is very eye-opening. Just being back on the field to do something I love again. Smelling a baseball, for instance,” Marlowe said. “You’re in the hospital not doing anything. You’re home bedridden, trying to walk normal. Just being able to smell a baseball, being on the baseball field, was a huge thing for me.” 
Curt Weiler
The Osceola
