TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Freshman Jackson Lueck registered his first collegiate home run, but it was not enough to spark a rally from an early three-run deficit as second-ranked Florida (30-5) downed the sixth-ranked Seminoles (22-9) by an 8-2 margin on Tuesday evening.
Lueck, who finished 2-for-4 (RBI) from the plate, was the lone Florida State hitter in the lineup with multiple hits. Senior John Sansone contributed an RBI after going 1-for-4 and Cal Raleigh picked up his eighth double of the season.
Florida State sent eight pitchers to the mound including starter Ed Voyles (0-1) who suffered his first setback of the season after relinquishing four hits, two earned runs and two walks to go along with one strikeout.
“Florida did another exceptional job of playing this great game after committing no errors with their impressive infield,” said head coach Mike Martin. “Offensively we had some good at-bats, hit the ball hard a few times, but credit them for making outstanding plays. Everyone from their third baseman to the first baseman played a game that the team that won deserved to win.”
Florida’s Dalton Guthrie opened the game with a leadoff single to short and quickly moved into scoring position on a stolen base. Two batters later, after advancing to third on a wild pitch, Guthrie provided Florida with the 1-0 lead on a grounder to short by Buddy Reed.
Jeremy Vasquez drove the first Gator hit of the second inning through the right side of the infield before moving to second on an Voyles balk. Two batters later Guthrie roped a double down the left field line, plating Vasquez for the 2-0 advantage.
Chase Haney retired the first two Florida batters of the fourth inning, before Nelson Maldonado reached base after being hit on the wrist. Maldonado scored on a deep single to right field by Guthrie, after oving to second after a failed pickoff attempt, as the Gators assumed the 3-0 lead.
FSU put its first run on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Lueck led off the inning with his first collegiate home run over the right centerfield wall as the Seminoles sliced the lead to 3-1.
Florida got the run back in the fifth when an errant throw to first allowed Deacon Liput to advance to second base. A sacrifice bunt by Reed moved Liput to third before a single up the middle by JJ Schwarz extended the margin back to three. Florida State limited any further scoring opportunities for the Gators with a double play to end frame.
In the seventh inning, the Seminoles had their best chance to close the gap or even take the lead when Ben DeLuzio became the third FSU hitter to reach base to open an inning drawing a leadoff walk. Matt Henderson also walked, setting up Taylor Walls who ripped a single to left to load the bases for Sansone. Sansone reached base on a fielder’s choice to third, scoring DeLuzio to cut the lead in half, 4-2, as Walls moved to second. However, Florida’s defense ended the threat with a series of infield putouts.
Florida went on to extend its lead with runs in the eighth and ninth innings to push the final to 8-2.
Florida State returns to ACC action this weekend when it heads to Winston-Salem, N.C., for a three-game series with Wake Forest. The first game on Friday begins at 6 p.m.
Seminole fans can always stay up-to-date with the Florida State Baseball team by following the official twitter page of the Seminoles (@FSUBaseball).
---Seminoles.com---
