On a night where the entire team contributed, Florida State (38-21) took control of the Athens Regional with a 12-3 win against host Georgia (45-16). The red hot bats we saw Friday afternoon remained lit and combined with an outstanding starting pitching performance to allow the ’Noles to cruise into the driver’s seat for the remainder of the regional.

Three Up:

• After Tim Becker hit the first two home runs of his college career Friday afternoon, Mike Martin gave the former club player another start. FSU found itself down 2-0 in the 3rd when the walk-on senior hit his third home run of the weekend, jumpstarting the Seminoles’ offense. It was just the fifth home run surrendered by Emerson Hancock this season.

Becker followed with a 2-RBI single in the fourth giving Florida State a 5-2 lead.

• While everyone thought the night would be dominated by Georgia’s ace, it was actually quite the opposite. Florida State’s ace, C.J. Van Eyk, had a phenomenal night on the mound. After the sophomore allowed a home run on the second pitch of the game, his domination of the ’Dawgs commenced. Van Eyk allowed only two runs on seven hits through the first seven innings, not issuing a walk, and striking out 9. It was truly remarkable that the right-hander was able to maintain his rhythm in a game that dragged on and put him on the bench for long periods of time due to a crooked offensive score over four innings. The sophomore would finish the night scattering 9 hits across 8 innings as he induced 3 double play ground balls.
• Nander De Sedas had a career night as he scored twice and drove in three runs on three singles.

As mentioned above, it was a total team effort as eight of nine starters finished with at least one hit. There were a total of 15 Florida State hits in Athens with five starters recording multiple hits, including Carter Smith. The junior missed an opportunity to tie the game in the second inning on a deep fly to center, but redeemed himself with a 3-run bomb in the 5th, giving FSU a very comfortable 10-2 cushion.

Leadoff hitter, Mike Salvatore, also had three hits on the night, including a two-run home run in the 7th inning that extended the Seminoles lead to ten.

Three Down:

• A base-running blunder by Reese Albert in the 3rd inning cost the ’Noles an opportunity to extend their lead. With Salvatore on third and Albert on first, Robby Martin smoked a ball to deep centerfield and Albert took off believing it would drop. However, the ball was caught, and Albert had already rounded 2nd base and was thrown out retreating back to first. Luckily for FSU, Salvatore scored before Albert was doubled off at first.
• In a game that was commanded by Florida State’s bats, Matheu Nelson was the single sore spot in the Seminoles’ lineup. Nelson went 0-4 with two strikeouts and a double play.
• The home-plate umpire was poor. Drew Mendoza should’ve walked twice in his 3rd inning at-bat. In the next inning, the ump called a strike on a pitchout. There’s a first time for everything...

Game Thread

Box Score

Mike Martin, Tim Becker, Mike Salvatore, and C.J. Van Eyk Media Availability:

With the win, Florida State awaits the winner of the Sunday’s elimination game between FAU and UGA that is scheduled for noon. The winner of the early game will face the ’Noles in the 6:00 PM game. A win by FSU advances them to the Super Regional against the winner of the LSU Regional. If they lose Sunday night, they play again Monday at 4:00 PM.

The Seminoles have yet to name a starter, but one would assume every pitcher not named Drew Parrish or Van Eyk is available, and they’ll all have the shortest of leashes.