DeLAND, Fla. – Florida State (26-16) beat Stetson (18-25) for the second time in a week after the Seminoles topped the Hatters 11-5 Tuesday evening at Melching Field in front of 1,798 fans. FSU’s offense had 11 hits, nine walks, one hit by pitch and six sacrifice hits, while starter Drew Parrish (4-2) worked seven innings on the mound in his first midweek start.
“It was an important win for us as we go into the homestretch,” head coach Mike Martin said. “Drew Parrish had a very good outing. He pitched a very good baseball game and it was nice to bring in Chaz [Chase Haney] and Clayton [Kwiatkowski] to finish. Good win for our team. We played well, made a couple errors, but all in all, a very successful night.”
Taylor Walls, Quincy Nieporte and Dylan Busby each had multiple hits, while Nieporte, Nick Derr and J.C. Flowers each had more than one RBI. Cal Raleigh and Matt Henderson each had three of FSU’s nine walks. Henderson did not record an official at-bat in four plate appearances, adding a hit by pitch before being replaced in the field by Hank Truluck in the bottom of the seventh.
Parrish, making his first midweek start after eight straight appearances as FSU’s game three starter on the weekend, went 7.0 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits while walking just one.
Florida State struck first with a run in the second inning. Nieporte singled, followed by the first Raleigh walk. After Drew Mendoza’s first sacrifice bunt of the season advanced the runners, Henderson walked to load the bases before Derr’s sacrifice fly scored Nieporte.
In the third, Walls opened with a single before Busby doubled just inside the third base bag, scoring Walls. Busby was named the NCBWA National Hitter of the Week earlier in the day after going 8-for-18 with 10 RBI last week. When Jackson Lueck’s ground out advanced Busby to third, Nieporte’s sixth sacrifice fly of the season made the score 3-0.
Stetson got one back in the bottom of the frame after singles from Jacob Koos and Austin Hale and an RBI groundout from Mike Spooner. Parrish forced a fly out to get the Seminoles out of trouble.
FSU scored three runs in the fourth, chasing Stetson starter Ryan Stark (2-3). Stark allowed a single to Mendoza and hit Henderson with a pitch before Derr’s sacrifice bunt was thrown to third, but not in time to get Mendoza. Josh Gonzalez relieved Stark, and Flowers’ two-run single scored Henderson and Mendoza. Walls’ flew out to left field, advancing Derr to third base and setting the stage for a double steal that made the score 6-1 Florida State.
Derr’s second sacrifice fly of the game came in the fifth, scoring Raleigh and pushing FSU’s lead to 7-1.
FSU scored for a fifth-consecutive inning with four runs in the sixth. Stetson got three back on Hale’s third home run of the season in the seventh inning, trimming the lead to 11-5. Stetson’s top two hitters, Koos and Hale, combined to go 6-for-7 with four RBI, all from Hale.
In relief of Parrish, Chase Haney worked a scoreless eighth inning, working out of a single and error that left two Hatters stranded. Clayton Kwiatkowski worked a perfect ninth in his 12th appearance of the year.
Next Up
The Seminoles open an 11-game homestand against No. 10 Virginia Friday at 6:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s games will begin at 1:00 p.m. Due to the Doak After Dark concert Saturday evening, fans parking for that day’s game should park in the Spirit Way parking garage, the lot behind left field or either of the circus lots.
All 11 games will stream on ACC Network Extra on WatchESPN, while Eric Luallen will provide play-by-play audio on 106.1 FM in Tallahassee and nationwide on the FSU Gameday App.
Postgame Notes:
- Dylan Busby’s RBI double in the third inning extended his team-high hitting streak to seven games. He added a second double in the ninth inning. Since missing the Florida game on April 11, Busby is hitting .452 (14-for-31) with five doubles, four home runs and 17 RBI (seven games).
- Matt Henderson’s second inning walk extended his streak of reaching base to a team-best nine straight games.
- Rhett Aplin missed his first game of the season. Only J.C. Flowers and Cal Raleigh have played in all 42 games this year.
- J.C. Flowers and Nick Derr pulled off a double steal in the fourth inning. Derr’s steal of home is the second of the year for the Noles (Busby).
- Cal Raleigh’s three walks tie a career high, done last year in the Super Regional at Florida (June 11). Matt Henderson’s three walks tie his career high (seven other times).
- A late replacement for Rhett Aplin in right field, Nick Derr’s three RBI set a career high. He had two RBI three times earlier this season. J.C. Flowers tied his career high with three RBI (Boston College, March 11).
- Florida State won for the 13th straight time against Stetson, tying the longest winning streak (1992-2010) in a series that dates back to FSU’s second season in 1949.
- Drew Parrish made his first midweek start after anchoring the weekend rotation for eight straight weeks. As a weekend starter, Parrish was 3-2 with a 4.93 earned run average.
- Starting pitcher Tyler Holton made his first plate appearance of the season after replacing Jackson Lueck in left field in the ninth inning.
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).
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