3 up 3 down: FSU takes down BC in Fenway Park

Florida State’s offense carried the team once again after a poor starting pitching performance. In a game played at iconic Fenway Park, the ’Noles were down early, before fighting their way back into the lead. Thankfully, they received some much needed bullpen support in a 13-7 victory.

Three Up:

• It goes without saying that every kid who grew up playing baseball dreamed about playing in Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field or Fenway Park. The Seminoles were able to play out that fantasy Saturday afternoon as the game was played in the traditional filled stadium. Steven Wells took advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime experience by setting a team record of recording a hit in eleven straight at-bats. The right-fielder would extend that streak to twelve before reaching base on an error in the seventh inning. He would add another single in the 9th inning and is currently batting .297, up 100 points from last week with his OBP just a shade under .500.
• The rest of FSU’s offense continued where they left off—they’ve now scored 44 runs in the past three games. Jackson Lueck and Reese Albert had multi-hit games, while middle reliever, Cobi Johnson, started the game as the DH, scoring two runs and driving in three. The team added 11 more walks, bringing their total to 246, the nation’s best.
• Florida State could not afford another bullpen collapse like they’ve seen the past two games and Tyler Ahearn made sure that didn’t happen. The freshman came if relief of C.J. Van Eyk and his first three innings were scoreless with his only blemish being a two-out walk in the fourth. Pitching his longest outing of the season he hit a wall in the sixth as he allowed the first two runners to reach and then allowed a runner to score on a wild pitch, but it was a positive performance overall. Johnson also contributed on the mound as he closed out the game with 3 innings allowing just a single run in eighth.

Three Down:

• It was a nightmare outing for Van Eyk in his second career start. The freshman lasted just two innings, after allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 4 hits and 5 walks. He was behind almost every batter he faced and it was evident his control was non-existent. The right-hander also struggled with keeping runners on base. Florida State’s pitching is a major issue, they’ve allowed 29 runs in 4 games against Stetson and Boston College, but with injuries no better options it is probable that Van Eyk will remain in the starting rotation.
• An error in the second inning on the throw from Wells to Raleigh at home plated an extra run. The better decision was to throw the ball to the infield and keep the runners at 1st and 3rd. Another mental mistake late in the game when Cal Raleigh tried to pick off a runner at first sailing the throw. Had the lead not been six runs it could have been more meaningful. An error by Rafael Bournigal in the bottom of the ninth put runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out, but was quickly erased by a great pickoff throw from Raleigh to get the lead runner at 2nd.
• It’s unbelievable that every game isn’t televised. As was the case with Friday night’s game, you’ll not be able to watch Sunday’s finale. You can listen live or follow along on tomahawknation.com.

Florida State looks to sweep their first conference series of the season tomorrow.