DURHAM, N.C. – A dominating performance by Florida State (36-19) freshman pitcher Cole Sands, along with a pair of two-run home runs by John Sansone and Dylan Busby, highlighted a 6-1 victory over Georgia Tech (36-22). The Seminoles improved to 2-0 in pool play at the 2016 ACC Tournament at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The Seminoles will enjoy an off day on Friday as they prepare to face Miami in the final game of pool play on Saturday at 3 p.m. Should FSU defeat Miami, it will advance to the 11th ACC Championship game in program history.
Sands, who moved to 5-6 on the season, scattered three hits and allowed one earned run on 84 pitches. The Tallahassee, Fla., native didn’t allow a hit after the third inning, or multiple hits in the same inning, as he made 84 pitches to the 19 Georgia Tech batters he faced.
Jim Voyles tossed the next three innings for Seminoles, yielding three hits to the 12 batters he faced, while striking out one Georgia Tech hitter. Chase Haney closed out the ninth for FSU, holding the Yellow Jacket hitless on seven pitches to preserve the five-run lead.
“Cole gave us exactly what we needed, and that was a good start, a quality start,” said head coach Mike Martin. “I know some people may look at a quality start as being six innings. With the way we tried to play this year, if our starter can give us five innings, that's a quality start, because we're going to turn it over to the bullpen.
“Jim came in and did an excellent job, and Chase Haney, pitched very well,” added Martin. “It was a game in which we made some very good defensive plays from the double play that we turned, to the play up the middle in the ninth inning.”
The trio of Sansone (2-5, 2 runs), Jackson Lueck (3-3, 2 runs) and Busby (1-4, run) led the way for FSU offensively. Sansone and Busby came through with two RBI apiece as they each hit their ninth home run of the season.
“We were just playing our game the last couple days, and today, I was just trying to hit my pitch,” said Sansone. “The last couple at-bats, I was getting out of my comfort zone. The first two at-bats, I was just really trying to pick out my pitch.”
Sansone got the FSU offense rolling early in the first inning with a single into left centerfield. Two batters later, after Lueck was hit by a pitch, Cal Raleigh delivered a single through the left side to give the Seminoles a 1-0 lead. With Ben DeLuzio at the plate, Raleigh was caught in a rundown allowing Lueck to score from third for the 2-0 FSU advantage.
Georgia Tech got one run back in the bottom of the first after a leadoff single to into centerfield by Connor Justus. The Yellow Jackets sliced their deficit in half, 2-1, on a sacrifice fly by Kel Johnson that scored Justus from third.
Sansone delivered his second home run of the ACC Tournament over the left field wall to give FSU a 4-1 advantage in the third inning. The senior captain also scored Taylor Walls, who opened the frame with a single to right field.
Lueck leadoff the seventh inning with a single to right centerfield for his third hit and Florida State’s ninth of the game. Two batters later, Busby sent a blast over the left field wall to give the Noles a 6-1 edge.
Freshman Tyler Holton (2-3, 2.94 ERA) will face Miami’s Michael Mediaville (10-1, 3.24 ERA) on Saturday at 3 p.m. The two teams will battle for the chance to appear in the ACC Championship game.
Regional Sports Networks from across the conference footprint and the nation will televise all 14 games through Saturday. All games will also be available on ESPN3.
In addition, the games on Tuesday through Saturday will be broadcast via satellite radio on Sirius 106/XM 193, while Sunday’s championship will be on SiriusXM College Sports National Channel 84.
Fans can also listen to every game of the ACC Tournament on 106.1 FM in Tallahassee and free of charge on Seminoles.com and the Florida State Seminoles Game Day app.
Seminole fans can always stay up-to-date with the Florida State Baseball team by following the official twitter page of the Seminoles (@FSUBaseball).
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