No. 9 FSU Baseball Outpitched by Virginia Tech
The ‘Noles saw unnaturally cool Spring weather late Friday afternoon when they squared off against Virginia Tech at Dick Howser Stadium. Friday’s game marked the first meeting between the two teams since the 2013 ACC tournament. The only difference between 2013’s game and Friday’s game was the result.
Boomer Biegalski got the start for the ‘Noles, as did Sean Keselica for the Hokies. Both pitchers lacked consistency early on, but ultimately got their respective teams out of the jam. FSU’s Biegalski allowed two home runs by the third inning. To his fortune both home runs were solo shots that didn’t put Florida State in a sizeable hole. In fact, the second of the two merely tied the game up by a score of 2-2.
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Both teams saw an offensive dry spell dry follow the game-tying homer by Virginia Tech’s Rahiem Cooper. It wouldn’t be until the top of the seventh inning that either team would plate another run. This is when Virginia Tech’s Mac Caples scored on a wild pitch following a pair of Hokie singles to left field. It wouldn’t get any better for the home team after this.
Succeeding the run, Dylan Silva came in to pitch for Florida State. The left-handed pitcher didn’t help the cause. Silva walked two straight batters before allowing Virginia Tech’s Alex Perez to single to right field on a full count. A fielding error ensued that moved VT’s Cooper to third. The Hokies would take advantage as Alex Payne blasted a double to right center that would score two runners and give Virginia Tech the 7-2 lead.
The eighth inning would see an FSU rally attempt dampened by resilient Hokie pitching. A walk of FSU’s DJ Stewart followed by a hit-by-pitch of Quincy Nieporte put two runners on for Chris Marconcini. The redshirt senior stared down relief pitcher Chris Monaco and smashed the baseball for a double to left center. It seemed as if everything was in place for a Florida State rally as the double scored Stewart to cut the deficit to 7-3. Marconcini’s success was not sustainable, though. Virginia Tech’s Monaco battled back, striking out both Dylan Busby and Hank Truluck. The inning would conclude on a Josh Delph pop-up to first base.
The Hokies would add an insurance run to the board in the top of the ninth to take the 8-3 lead and conclude the scoring for both teams.
The top performance of the game should be credited to Virginia Tech’s Sean Keselica. The left-handed pitcher threw 116 pitches and saw 71 of them go for strikes in the win.
Final Pitching Lines:
FSU
| Player | POS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | BF | PITCHES | STRIKES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B.Biegalski | P | 6.1 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 27 | 93 | 62 |
| D.Silva | P | 0.2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 37 | 19 |
| A.Deise | P | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 9 |
| A.Ward | P | 0.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 10 |
| T.Folsom | P | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 7 |
| Totals | – | – | 10 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 43 | 186 | 107 |
VT
| Player | POS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | BF | PITCHES | STRIKES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.Keselica | P | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 29 | 116 | 71 |
| L.Scherzer | P | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| C.Monaco | P | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 37 | 23 |
| Totals | – | – | 6 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 39 | 159 | 95 |
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The ‘Noles will be back in action again Saturday at 6:00 p.m. for game two against the Hokies. The series will conclude on Sunday with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m.