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The Seminoles won back-to-back games against Maine this afternoon and now lead the series, 3-0. In the first game of the double header, the ’Noles raked in 16 runs defeating the Black Bears, 16-3. The Seminoles second game wasn’t as successful relying on a 7th inning rally to beat Maine, 6-5. Coach Martin is now only 10 victories away from 2,000 career wins. Florida State will look to complete their 4-game sweep of the Black Bears one more time tomorrow at 1 pm and hopefully put Martin one step closer to 2,000.
Three Up:
- In the first game of the doubleheader, both teams left 14 runners stranded. The Seminoles’ offense proved superior by plating 16 runs to Maine’s three. Of the 16 runs scored only three came via the homerun displaying the Seminoles’ ability to manufacture runs in a multitude of ways.
- After Maine took a 5-2 lead over the Seminoles in the second game, junior pitcher Clayton Kwiatkowski and Sophomore Tyler Ahearn pitched 3.1 perfect innings allowing the offense a chance to make the comeback. While Ahearn struggled with consistency last season, tonight he came in clutch tonight for the Seminoles retiring the side in the 7th inning relying on a mid-90s fastball, striking out two of the three. In the post-game press conference, Reese Albert credited Ahern for firing up the team with his sucessful first and final inning.
- Florida State’s freshman showed how they respond to adversity by completing a 7th inning comeback. After Elijah Cabell walked in the first-at-bat of the inning, Freshman Robby Martin doubled to center field allowing Cabell to make it home and tying the game up, 5-5. J.C. Flowers advanced to third on a balk after entering the game to pinch run for Martin. Flowers scored on a sac-fly by Matheu Nelson. The center fielder and left fielder collided on the catch, but Flowers likely would have scored if the catch was clean. The Seminoles comeback was complete and they beat Maine, 6-5.
Three Down:
- Despite success on the scoreboard, one of the reasons why the Seminoles left so many runners stranded was because of their inefficiencies when it came to bunting. In the post-game press conference coach Mike Martin explicitly said his team will improve at bunting. This comes after Florida State did not execute on several sac-bunts.
- The second game of the double header, pitcher Austin Pollock had a rough first start to the season. The southpaw struggled on the mound giving up a grand slam and allowing Maine to take a 5-2 lead in the 4th inning. After playing only 3.2 innings, Pollock was replaced by Clayton Kwiatkowski. This was not ideal considering the Seminoles’ second game only consisted of 7 innings.
- One of the Seminoles’ premiere talents, Drew Mendoza went 0-6 with 3 K’s in two combined games on Saturday. His struggles will likely not persist, however its somewhat alarming to witness younger players seeing the ball better than Mendoza at this point.
Check out coach what coach Martin had to say about the games below:
Seminoles FSU Baseball Head Coach Mike Martin post-doubleheader media availability
Posted by TomahawkNation.com on Saturday, February 16, 2019