FSU Baseball Notches Opening Day Victory

No. 11 FSU Baseball got off on the right foot today– although it took a while to do so. A chilly day in Tallahassee saw the ‘Noles struggle early before heating up late to defeat the Oakland Golden Grizzlies 7-3.

While the final score looks good, the Seminoles didn’t exactly impress out of the gates. An aggressive Oakland offensive approach put the ball in play– if not in Florida State gloves. After retiring the lead-off batter, a trio of first-inning errors on John Sansone, Dylan Busby, and Ben DeLuzio turned a pair of Golden Grizzly singles into a couple of unearned runs, and Oakland claimed a quick 2-0 lead. They would have added another run on their third single of the frame, but Mike Brousseau was called for baserunner interference to end the threat. FSU coach Mike Martin spoke of the shaky play early on, referring to it as “just one of those things typical of an opening day.”

Right-handed starter Mike Compton peppered the strike zone throughout his outing (60 strikes on 81 pitches), and he cruised after the first as his defense settled in behind him. In fact, he was perfect: after the first, he did not allow another baserunner in his six innings of work. Said Martin of Compton’s performance, including his calm demeanor during the turbulent first inning: “It was nice to have Mike Compton on the mound to keep everything from getting out of hand. . . . They had us on the ropes.”

At the plate, FSU was persistent in getting on base against Oakland’s lefty starter Jason Hager. The ‘Noles got on base in every inning, but just couldn’t push anything across early. Their best opportunity came in the third inning, when singles by Josh Delph and DJ Stewart and the 32nd hit-by-pitch of John Sansone’s Florida State career resulted in a two-out, bases-loaded situation. But freshman Dylan Busby struck out to end the inning.

The ‘Noles commenced their scoring in the fifth after the right-handed Connor Fannon took over for Hager. DeLuzio singled and stole second, and then Stewart collected his first RBI of the season with a double to left-center field that halved the Oakland lead at 2-1.

Bryant Holtmann took over on the hill for FSU to start the seventh, and the Golden Grizzlies had a little something going following a double and a walk, but it stayed a 2-1 contest when Trent Drumheller lined out to Sansone at second. The ‘Noles took their first lead of the season in the bottom of the inning, after Delph led things off with a walk. Oakland again went to the bullpen, this time summoning righty Lucas Scocchia.

DeLuzio fanned for the second out, but Delph advanced to second on a wild pitch. With first base open, Oakland manager John Musachio elected to intentionally walk Stewart. That brought up Sansone, who laced a double down the left-field line to plate both runners and give Florida State a 3-2 lead.

Southpaw Dylan Silva came on in the eighth and pitched around a player reaching after a strikeout on a wild pitch and a double– striking out the side will do that for you. FSU added some insurance runs in the bottom of the inning when Darren Miller drew a walk and, one out later, Gage West doubled him to third.

More from Chop Chat

Right-handed reliever Alex Mason then walked Danny De La Calle, packing the sacks for Delph, who absolutely launched one over the right-field wall. The grand slam was just his second career home run and gave Florida State a 7-2 spread. After the game, Delph told media that he’d never hit a grand slam before. He quipped: “I was saving it.” Martin expressed surprise at the blast as well: “Who would have expected Joshua to hit the ball over the screen for a salami?”

Junior Derek Vail allowed a run on a double and a pair of singles in the ninth but closed out the 7-3 win. Holtmann was credited with the win.

The Seminoles and Golden Grizzlies are back on the diamond tomorrow at 2 pm.

Home/FSU Baseball