Chop Chat
Fansided

FSU Baseball Recap: Noles Sweep Midweek Series at UCF

By Ty Ragans

Feb 14, 2017; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; a general view of a baseball bat and glove on the field during New York Mets spring training workouts at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 14, 2017; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; a general view of a baseball bat and glove on the field during New York Mets spring training workouts at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The competition stiffened for FSU baseball when they traveled to Orlando for a midweek series with UCF. The Noles answered the bell with a two game sweep.

FSU baseball has had a significant talent advantage in every game they have played this season. Although it still existed, the gap in talent was narrowed when they made the trip to UCF for a midweek series.

The Noles didn’t flinch as they came up with the sweep by holding UCF to just two runs total in the two game series. The FSU pitching staff shut UCF out in 17 of the 18 innings played over the two days. The overall pitching performance is even more impressive considering FSU used a total of eight pitchers to combine for the 17 shutout innings.

The first game ended in a solid 5-2 win for FSU on Tuesday. The sweep was completed with a 5-0 shutout victory on Wednesday giving FSU baseball their ninth consecutive win.

Tuesday

It was another solid start for right handed pitcher Andrew Karp on Tuesday. Karp only went four innings but was still effective. The redshirt sophomore allowed two hits and two earned runs while striking out six in the midweek road game.

The FSU bullpen was terrific on Tuesday night. After Karp’s departure the Seminole bullpen used three pitchers to combine for five innings of no-hit baseball.

Alec Byrd was the first to relieve Karp. Byrd came in and pitched two innings, recording four strikeouts and one walk while picking up the win. Chase Haney replaced Byrd for a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

Finally, closer Drew Carlton came in and recorded his second two-inning save of the year by retiring all six batters in order. It was a nice performance from a Seminole bullpen that has struggled at times early in the season.

It was a mixed-bag for the FSU lineup on Tuesday night. The offense recorded a solid nine hits and put up five runs in the victory. However, the Seminoles offense squandered opportunities for more runs by stranding nine baserunners in the game.

A man that has not stranded many runners this season is Quincy Nieporte. Nieporte picked up three more RBI on the evening, adding to his team lead. Dylan Busby continues to appear more comfortable at the plate. Busby came through with two hits and an RBI on Tuesday. Rhett Aplin had yet another multi-hit game as he went 3-4 and scored a run.

Defensively the Noles were perfect; they finished the game with zero errors for the third time this season. Unsurprisingly, all three of those performances resulted in victory for FSU.

More from FSU Baseball

Wednesday

The FSU bullpen impressed yet again on Wednesday. Ed Voyles got his first start of the season but only pitched two innings. Voyles was replaced by Will Zirzow who went five impressive innings while recording seven strikeouts to zero walks and just one hit. Zirzow would eventually be credited with the win.

Jim Voyles came in to pitch the 8th inning and ran into some trouble as UCF loaded the bases with one out. FSU found some good fortune when Luke Hamblin lined out straight to Dylan Busby, allowing him to tag third base for the inning-ending double play.

Drew Carlton came in to work a 1-2-3 9th inning and seal the sweep for FSU. It was not a save situation for Carlton, but he has been nearly flawless in his appearances as a closer this season.

Dylan Busby stayed hot and came up with an RBI double in the top of the third to get the scoring started. Rhett Aplin stayed even hotter when he followed Busby’s double with a two RBI single.

Senior second baseman Matt Henderson had a nice day at the plate as he was 2-3 with two singles and two walks. While the Noles weren’t exactly crushing at the plate in Orlando, it was a sold series with 16 hits between the two games. FSU played well on defense in the two game set as they committed just one error in the two games.

The win makes that nine straight for FSU baseball and brings their overall record to 11-2. The Noles open ACC play with a weekend home series against Boston College starting on Friday, be sure to check out our preview coming out that day.

Home/FSU Baseball