‘Noles Sweep Notre Dame Out Of Town

Matt Ryerson-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 1 Florida State Seminoles took both games of a double header today against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, completing a three-game sweep of its new ACC foe. The teams played twice today after Saturday night’s contest was rained out.

The first game started early, at 10 am, but the FSU bats were more than awake. After a two-out walk to DJ Stewart in the first inning, John Nogowski homered for the third time this season, making the score 2-0. Notre Dame cut the lead in half in the top of the second, using a couple hits and a steal to tally a run on ‘Nole starter Mike Compton.

But some sloppy Irish play helped the Seminoles break it open in the inning’s bottom half. Jose Brizuela and Casey Smit each singled to begin the frame. After a Michael Hearne wild pitch advanced them to scoring position, Brizuela scored when a ball hit by Danny De La Calle was thrown away by ND shortstop Kyle Fiala. Josh Delph then brought Smit home, John Sansone singled in De La Calle, and a DJ Stewart RBI double brought the score to 6-1. Nogowski drilled his second homer in as many innings to extend the advantage to 8-1, which also prompted Hearne’s exit.

The margin became 9-1 in the third, when Brizuela walked, took second on a wild pitch, and scored on Smit’s single.

Things settled down until each team added a run in the seventh. Notre Dame hung one on FSU reliever Alec Byrd courtesy of a Fiala sacrifice fly, and Ben DeLuzio touched home after he singled and scored on Hank Truluck’s double, bringing the score to 10-2.

Florida State notched one more run in the eighth, when Matt Mulroy’s sac fly scored Brizuela, who advanced to third on a Smit single after doubling.

Compton scattered 10 hits over six innings, allowing just one run. Byrd and Jim Voyles wrapped up the 11-2 win for the ‘Noles.

The second game was a different story altogether. The Seminoles again opened the scoring, getting to Irish starter Pat Connaughton in the third when DeLuzio walked, stole second, and scored on Sansone’s single.

Notre Dame knotted things up in the fourth, finally getting to FSU’s Bryant Holtmann, drawing a couple of walks and utilizing a Ryan Bull double to tie the score, 1-1.

Florida State answered, though, in the bottom of the inning. After DeLuzio doubled, Josh Delph and Sansone worked two-out walks to load the bases. Smit’s single scored DeLuzio and Delph, and Nogowski’s base hit plated Sansone.

The score remained 4-1 until the sixth, when Blaise Lezynski singled and scored on Bull’s second double of the game. Holtmann finished the inning and had a nice day, pitching six innings of four-hit, two-run ball. ND made it 4-3 with a Kevin DeFilippis RBI off reliever Dylan Silva in the seventh, and while the ‘Nole lefty shutout the Irish in the eighth, he gave the tying run a free pass, walking Cavan Biggio to begin the ninth. This prompted Mike Martin to summon Gage Smith from the pen.

After getting a force out at second, Smith gave up a single to Robert Youngdahl that advanced the equalizer to third with just one down. But Smith got the double-play ball he needed off the bat of DeFilippis, and the Seminoles escaped with a 4-3 victory.

The two wins keep FSU atop the ACC Atlantic division with a 13-2 conference record. Overall, the Seminoles improved to 26-5. Their next game is Tuesday night and is their last regular-season matchup with Florida. The Gators won the only two contests the teams have played thus far, making them the only team to capture a series from the ‘Noles all year. Their last game saw both benches clear and players ejected after a collision on the base paths. Expect an electric atmosphere in Dick Howser Stadium; first pitch is scheduled for 6 pm.