3 up, 3 down: FSU freshman earns first career win in sweep over Troy

The Florida State Seminoles (7-0) continued their hot start to the 2018 season with a 9-4 victory over the Troy Trojans (4-4). Making his first appearance in the rotation, since replacing Tyler Holton, freshman Austin Pollock pitched well over six innings of work.

Three up:

• You couldn’t ask for Austin Pollock to do much more than he did on Sunday afternoon. After allowing a lead-off double to Troy shortstop Matt Sanders, he settled in quite nicely. He sat through a 5-run second inning before waiting out a 1:18 rain delay. The only blemish on his line came in the second inning when Troy first baseman Cole Prestegard launched his second home run of the season. Pollock picked up his first-career win going six innings, allowing five hits, giving up one earned run, striking out three. The freshman now has a 0.90 ERA over 10 innings pitched.
• A break-out series for Jackson Lueck. After the USF game on Tuesday, Lueck had a .118 BA — a far cry from the 2016 (.379 BA) and 2017 (.318 BA) team-leading averages he posted. After hitting his first home run of the season on Saturday, his 2-for-4 (2B, RBI, R) effort on Sunday helped raise his batting average to .250 on the season.
• JC Flowers has already matched the number of doubles he hit last season. Through seven games this year he’s posted four doubles, driven in six runs, and leads the team with his .429 (min. 10 AB) batting average. In 2017 — his freshman year —Flowers posted a .235/.359/.300 slash line.

Three down:

• Leadoff hits continue to be an issue for FSU pitchers. The Trojans put the lead-off man on in four innings on Sunday. The runs scored by Troy in the sixth and seventh inning were by way of lead-off walks. Matt Sanders, the shortstop and lead-off man for Troy was a thorn in the side of the Seminoles all weekend. On Sunday, he went 3-for-3 with two walks, reaching base in all five of his plate appearances.
• Three more errors for the ’Noles. Flowers, Rafael Bournigal, and Drew Mendoza each recorded an error. For Mendoza, it’s his third miscue this season.
• While the FSU starters have looked good this season, the team has struggled to prevent runs in the later innings. During the three-game series against Troy — a series in which the Trojans scored 12 runs total — Florida State pitchers allowed 10 runs to cross the plate in the sixth inning or later.