TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Freshman Austin Pollock tied a career high with six innings pitched, striking out eight, and Florida State (33-16) beat Jacksonville (31-17) 10-4 Wednesday evening at Dick Howser Stadium. FSU swept the season series against the Dolphins for the second straight year.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
 JU | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
 FSU | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | X | 10 | 11 | 1 |
“Jacksonville has an RPI of 20,” head coach Mike Martin said. “We know they are very talented, and to win like we did is a credit to our baseball team. Very proud of the way they bounced back.”
Jacksonville scored in three different innings, and the Seminoles answered with multiple runs each time. Pollock (4-4) allowed four runs on eight hits in 6.0 innings. Freshman Jonah Scolaro earned his sixth save, and fifth of at least three innings, pitching the final three frames and allowing just three hits and striking out five.
“I was very pleased with Pollock,” Martin said. “I thought he threw with a lot of composure. He didn’t get rattled when things didn’t go his way. He continued to battle.”
Offensively, four Seminoles had a pair of hits, while Reese Albert set a career high with three RBI. Cal Raleigh had his fourth consecutive multi-hit game and is hitting 10-for-17 during that stretch. The top seven hitters in FSU’s lineup had at least one hit.
“Cal’s leadership is beginning to stand out,” Martin said. “He is as good a competitor as any catcher I’ve had. His teammates feed off of him. Cal doesn’t have the opportunity to be disappointed because he’s catching 92-mile an hour fastballs…I can’t say enough about what this young man brings to our ball club.”
JU took an early lead off Pollock with a sacrifice fly by Angel Camacho in the first inning. That followed a leadoff walk to Chris Lehane and a hit-and-run single from Scott Dubrule. Pollock struck out the final two hitters of the inning to avoid further damage.
FSU responded in the bottom of the frame when the first four batters reached base vs. Dolphin starting pitcher Austin Temple. Steven Wells walked, followed by back-to-back singles from Jackson Lueck and Rhett Aplin. After Aplin’s RBI single, Raleigh walked and Lueck scored on a throwing error by the JU catcher. Albert’s sacrifice fly gave FSU a 3-1 lead.
The Dolphins tied the game in the third on three consecutive one-out hits. Dubrule notched an RBI single and scored on a Pollock wild pitch. Dubrule finished the day 3-for-4 with a walk. Seven of JU’s 11 hits came from the top four hitters in the lineup.
FSU’s top of the order responded in the bottom of the third against JU relief pitcher Matt Meyer (1-1), scoring three runs on three hits. Lueck walked, moved to third on Raleigh’s single and scored on Drew Mendoza’s RBI single for a 4-3 lead. Albert’s second sac fly of the game scored Raleigh and Rafael Bournigal doubled for a 6-3 FSU lead through three innings.
After three straight scoreless innings, Duncan Hunter hit a first-pitch home run in the top of the seventh off Pollock to trim FSU’s lead to 6-4. Pollock threw one more pitch before getting relieved by Scolaro, who got FSU out of the frame with a two-run lead.
FSU again answered the Dolphins, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI double from Albert and an RBI single from Bournigal, both with two outs.
“Reese has been very impressive,” Martin said of Albert. “He’s gotten better with each opportunity.”
The Noles tacked on a pair of runs in the eighth inning Raleigh’s RBI double and Mendoza’s RBI single.
Reese Albert’s second sacrifice fly of the game came in the third inning, scoring Cal Raleigh and giving FSU a 5-3 lead.
- Catcher Cal Raleigh started his 173rd consecutive game, with 170 of those at catcher. Raleigh drew his team-high 43rd walk in the 1st inning and stole his fourth career base. He finished 2-for-4 and has at least two hits in four straight games.
- First baseman Rhett Aplin notched an RBI single in the 1st inning, his 28th straight game reaching base. Aplin’s is the longest single-season streak for reaching base since DJ Stewart’s 38 in 2014.
- Starting pitcher Austin Pollock’s eight strikeouts were his second-most in a game, behind only the nine he notched against UNC Asheville on March 4. FSU struck out 13 in the game, the 29th time this season striking out at least 10.
- Drew Mendoza and Raleigh both singled in the third inning to extend their hitting streaks to four games. Mendoza (.315) and Raleigh (.313) lead FSU in hitting this year.
- Reese Albert had sacrifice flies in his first two plate appearances, the first Nole this season and second in the past four years with two sacrifice flies in a game.
- Rafael Bournigal hit his sixth double of the season to score Drew Mendoza in the third inning. Jackson Lueck hit seventh double in the fourth inning. Bournigal had his third sacrifice bunt in the fifth inning, tying Steven Wells for the team lead.
- Bournigal’s two hits tied a career high. Albert’s three RBI set a career high.
- Jonah Scolaro earned his team-high sixth save of the season. Five of his six saves have been at least 3.0 innings pitched. In three games against JU this season, Scolaro allowed six hits in 8.0 innings, walked two and struck out 14 batters without allowing a run.
- With the win, FSU improved to 17-12 against teams in the RPI Top 50.
- After the game, head coach Mike Martin announced that J.C. Flowers (jaw) and Will Zirzow (arm) are both expected to play this weekend against Mount St. Mary’s.
Florida State hosts Mount St. Mary’s for a four-game series beginning Friday at 6:00 p.m. The Seminoles and Mountaineers will play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2:00 p.m. with Sunday’s finale scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
Ariya Massoudi and Chip Baker will call all three games for ACC Network Extra. Eric Luallen will provide play-by-play on the radio in Tallahassee on 106.1 FM and nationally on the FSU Gameday App.
The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader is FSU’s annual Military Appreciation Game. Active duty military and veterans get free admission with military ID and the first 1,000 fans will receive a military day t-shirt.
Saturday’s second game is a fan appreciation game with free attendance for all fans.
For more information on Florida State baseball, check Seminoles.com for the latest news and scheduling information, or keep up with the team on social media through Twitter (@FSUBaseball), Facebook (/FSUBaseball), and Instagram (@NoleBaseball).
