TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The freshman trio of Cal Raleigh, Jackson Lueck and Tyler Holton led 10th-ranked Florida State to an 8-5 victory over Stetson (17-19) on Tuesday night at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium.
The combination of Lueck (2-4, 2 RBI) and Raleigh (1-3, 3 RBI) fueled the FSU offense. Lueck, again hitting from the three-hole in the lineup, enjoyed his sixth multi-hit performance in the last eight contests. Meanwhile, Raleigh connected on a three-run homerun, his third homer in the month of April.
Holton (1-2) earned his first collegiate win after striking out six Stetson hitters over six innings. In his fifth start of the season, the freshman hurler scattered four hits, allowed one earned run and one walk in 86 pitches.
Redshirt senior Tyler Warmoth (S, 3) came out of the bullpen to preserve the victory, as he fanned three and issued one walk in 1.2 innings against his former squad.
“It was definitely Tyler Holton’s best outing,” said head coach Mike Martin. “To go six innings with all three pitches working in his favor. Most important was that he stayed ahead in the count and that is what we have been seeing out of him since September. Then our reliever Tyler Warmoth did a very good job of settling things down for us in the eighth.”
FSU opened the game with a leadoff walk by Taylor Walls and a double off the bat of John Sansone, putting two runners into scoring position. Two batters later Raleigh sent his seventh home run of the season over the right field wall, giving the Noles a 3-0 advantage.
Quincy Nieporte continued the first inning with a double up the middle and Dylan Busby put runners on the corners following a single to second base. The pair advanced home on a fielding error, providing FSU with the 5-0 lead.
After Stetson plated its first run in the top of the second, the tandem of Walls and Sansone were again instrumental in Florida State scoring two in the home half of the frame. Walls reached base on single to right field and Sansone smacked a double to left to set the table for Lueck. Lueck responded with a single into right field, driving in two RBI to extend the lead to 7-1.
The Hatters tacked on their second run in the fifth inning, scoring Cory Reid from second base on a single to centerfield by Austin Hale. However, FSU countered with one run in the bottom of the inning when Busby launched his fifth home run of the season over the left field wall to assume the 8-2 advantage.
Trailing 8-3 heading into the top of the eighth, after scoring one run in the seventh inning, Stetson used a walk by Kirk Sidwell and back-to-back hits by Fagan and Jack Perkins to pull within four runs of the Noles. Mike Spooner sent a single up the middle to load the bases and Will McKenzie drew a walk, making for the 8-5 score, before Warmoth closed out the inning with a strikeout to end the threat.
The two teams return to action on Wednesday afternoon, Andrew Karp (0-0, 12.60 ERA) will make his first collegiate start for the Seminoles against Stetson’s Adam Schaly (1-2, 4.72).
The broadcast of Wednesday’s game will include play-by-play from Davison and color commentary by Jason Leturmy.
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--
