In dominating fashion, Florida State Baseball completed the sweep over URI after a 19-run victory on Sunday. The 'Noles scored in seven different innings and hit 17-30 with runners on base as well as 14-26 with runners in scoring position and had 12 players have an RBI. After an eight run performance in yesterday's game, FSU had eight runs by the fourth inning. All around, it was a show put on by Florida State
3 up
1. Freshman Pitcher Cole Sands made his debut for the 'Noles, throwing five innings and only allowed two hits and a walk while striking out six. Coach Mike Martin after the game said his fastball was topping out at between 92 and 93 miles an hour. The Tallahassee native said he had some nerves before the game, but they all went away once he got on the field. His command was excellent all game, only allowing one walk and threw 46 of his 70 pitches for strikes. All in all, it was a pretty successful debut for the local product.
2. It is extremely easy to win a ball game when your team puts up 23 runs on 24 hits. For the second straight game, John Sansone hit a ball over the wall and it seemed that everyone on the team contributed in one way or another as 15 different players connected for a base hit. The team was able to string together a bunch of huge innings due to their success with two outs in the inning. The 'Noles hit 10-19 with two outs and had six innings with multiple runs. In the end, when a team had everything going for them offensively in a series such as the 'Noles did, it is no surprise they scored 50 runs in those three games.
3. Even for an opening weekend, the crowds at Dick Howser were large each game and were part of the huge success opening weekend was. A total of 14,337 patrons filled up Dick Howser this weekend for an average of 4,779 per game, more than 500 more than what FSU averaged all of last season. After Sunday's game, Mike martin gave credit to the Seminoles faithful saying, "Great crowds, great attendance, great opening weekend."
3 down
1. John Sansone continues to struggle defensively at third base. After a 2015 season which he committed 9 errors, Sansone added two more today, which resulted in an unearned run. It's even more imperative to record those outs with a freshman pitcher making their first career start on the mound at the time. Sansone on offense has done a great job to start the season with two home runs and nine RBI's in the first series, but there is no where else to move him as the other player to play third last year, Dylan Busby who is currently at first, committed 18 errors at the hot corner last year.
2. Unfortunately for Florida State, they will have to wait until Friday to make their next attempt at a larger offensive performance as they do not have a midweek game. The 'Noles were riding off of their 19 run performance on opening day for the past two games but the large 5 day break may mess with their sync and could affect them against a very good College of Charleston team that just took two out of three from Nebraska and have a game on Tuesday.
3. Although the starting roster has been mostly secured, there are still battles that are going on, which can cause some players to alter their playing style just to get that spot in the starting lineup. For example, Coach Martin still does not know who the fifth starter will be and has been experimenting with freshman Jackson Lueck and Gage West for the first few games. There may be a clearer picture at the end of the week on every day lineup.