In a particularly stunning turn of events, Florida State lost its season-opener to Virginia Commonwealth on Friday by a score of 3-0 at Dick Howser Stadium. The Friday afternoon contest started out close enough, with neither team scoring through four innings. That changed in the fifth however, when VCU pulled ahead and never relinquished its hold on the game. Florida State recorded just one hit in the loss and will look to rebound on Saturday.
The Good: The pitching duel for the first half of the game was something to witness. Both Drew Carlton (FSU) and Sean Thompson (VCU) dealt serious heat from the mound, with neither allowing any earned runs through four innings. In fact, the two combined for only four hits in that time span. Three of those were allowed by Carlton. The Florida State struggles at the plate will be a point of discussion, but credit should be given to Thompson for a great game in his own right.
The Bad: Fans had to wait quite the long time to see the FSU bats start producing. Unfortunately for them, it never actually happened. Through nine innings, the Seminoles recorded only one hit and no runs. It’s not surprising that VCU was able to take the lead in the fifth inning when it brought in two runs after Carlton was unable to sustain his excellent start. Every team goes through cold spots, though it was certainly not what was expected for this team, considering the talent they have in the lineup. It was one of the uglier hitting days of the past few years for the Seminoles.
The Ugly: This next statement is the first one to be written in the past 18 years: Florida State baseball lost an opening day game. The last time that occurred was in 1998 against Notre Dame. Mike Martin was 34-3 all-time in opening days coming into Friday afternoon. The streak has been broken, and it wasn’t to a particularly good opponent. It was indeed an unfamiliar feeling for Florida State, and not the note it wanted to start on for 2017.
Studs of the Game: Sean Thompson was without a doubt the best pitcher on the mound during Friday’s game. In five innings pitched, he only allowed one hit, to go along with six strikeouts. Paul Witt was another VCU standout, though his big night came at the plate. He had three hits and one RBI to help the Rams scrape past the Seminoles on opening day.
Duds of the Game: One is tempted to put the entire FSU batting lineup down for “Duds of the Game”. There was only player who actually got a hit, and that was Jackson Lueck in the first inning. If one had to narrow it down, the two players that should receive dud distinctions are Taylor Walls and Quincy Nieporte. Each were expected to help lead the Seminoles offense this year. Each produced nothing on Friday night in seven combined at-bats.
Extra Innings: According to a Twitter poll we ran earlier today, the fans have spoken. Hot dogs are overwhelmingly the essential food for a baseball game. They beat out hamburgers, Cracker Jacks, and pretzels for the coveted prize. Peanuts and sunflower seeds were not included because those are properly classified as snacks.
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