The Daily Nole

FSU Pulls Away from No. 2 Cardinals, 8-2

Maury Neipris/FSU athletics

After winning a slugfest on Thursday night, Florida State became the first ACC opponent to take a series from No. 2 Louisville on Friday night in what was a pitchers’ duel for much of the evening. The Seminoles used another outstanding start from Tyler Holton and some timely hitting to top the Cardinals, 8-2.

In a contest that was delayed by about two hours, FSU was able to crack the scoreboard in the fifth before adding two runs in the seventh and five in the ninth. The Seminoles will look to complete the sweep and finish with a winning record in ACC play as the regular season concludes on Saturday.

The Good: Both starting pitchers were excellent on Friday night. Tyler Holton picked up the win for Florida State by yielding just a run on five hits while walking three and striking out 11 in eight innings. Kade McClure nearly got through seven innings allowing just one run, but gave up a 2-run single to Taylor Walls with two outs in the frame. McClure gave up three runs on three hits in seven innings, but none of the runs were earned.

The Bad: Louisville’s 8-2 loss to FSU on Friday night marked the first time that the Cardinals dropped a series all season long. Coming into the series, the Cardinals were 29-2 at home. They’ve doubled their loss total at home in the first two games with the Seminoles.

The Ugly: Louisville kicked it around on Friday night with four errors, leading to four unearned runs for Florida State.

Studs of the Game: Tyler Holton and Kade McClure certainly earn this honor for their respective teams. At the plate, Taylor Walls and Quincy Nieporte each drove in a pair of runs for FSU. Jackson Lueck and Drew Mendoza each drove in one run and scored twice in the win. Devin Mann and Devin Hairston each went 2-for-4 for the Cardinals. Hairston scored one of the two Louisville runs.

Duds of the Game: Louisville reliever Adam Elliott gave up five runs, including four earned, in just 1 2/3 innings to allow FSU to run away with the contest. At the plate, Justin Lavey was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts for the Cardinals. Dylan Busby and Cal Raleigh were a combined 0-for-9 for the Seminoles. Busby struck out three times.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson

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