TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – An eighth inning rally attempt, spearheaded by Jackson Lueck’s single through the left side of the infield that scored teammate John Sansone from third, was not enough for Florida State to turn back visiting College of Charleston, who earned a 2-1 victory on Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium on Friday evening.
Lueck (1-1, 1 RBI) joined Sansone (1-3, 1 run) and Darren Miller (1-2) as the only Florida State hitters with a hit on the evening.
Florida State got a solid performance on the mound from starter Mike Compton, who struck out six Cougar hitters in 5.2 innings. Compton (1-1) scattered six hits and allowed two runs, one earned, and two walks in his second start of the season.
Alec Byrd relieved Compton in the sixth, forcing College of Charleston into a grounder, before giving way to Tyler Holton. In three innings, Holton allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out two Cougar hitters in 45 pitches.
“It was a game in which their guy pitched very well and our guy pitched very well,” said head coach Mike Martin. “They got a couple of key hits to drive in runs and while we hit the ball very hard, they positioned people very well. Our reliever did a great job of pitching a couple of innings of one-hit baseball, along with one walk, so it is something that you look at and say ‘let’s be ready to go tomorrow,’ because there is no way that I can find anything to be critical about.”
College of Charleston (3-1) was led by hurler Nathan Helvy (1-0) who limited the Seminoles to two hits and three walks in 5.1 innings. Helvy gave up his first hit of the night in the fifth inning on a single to centerfield by Sansone.
He was followed on the mound by Eric Bauer and Will Detwiler, who allowed the RBI single by Lueck, as the Cougars held a one-run lead heading into the ninth. Right-hander Carter Love, en route to his first save of the season, preserved the win by striking out a pair of Florida State batters.
College of Charleston took the lead in the fourth inning when Jake Maziar dropped a single into left centerfield, scoring Erven Roper from third. The Cougars added their second run in the sixth when an error at second allowed Roper to score on the play.
Florida State returns to action tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. when it sends right-hander Drew Calrton (1-0) to face College of Charleston’s Bailey Ober (0-0).
Seminole fans can always stay up-to-date with the Florida State Baseball team by following the official twitter page of the Seminoles (@FSUBaseball).
---Courtesy: Seminole Athletics---
