Florida State baseball defeated the Xavier Musketeers 7-2 on Saturday afternoon, moving to 2-0 on the season and guaranteeing an overall series victory. Cole Sands picked up the win as the Seminoles will try for the series sweep on Sunday.
The Good: Cole Sands did not have a good start to his first appearance. Sands gave up three hits and allowed two runs to the Musketeers with the first few batters he faced. Head coach Mike Martin came out very early to speak to him, and after that he seemed to get it all together. Over the next four innings, Xavier was unable to garner even one more hit off the junior right-hander. Sands has a lot of potential and those close to the program are excited with his improvement. On Saturday, he showed that he can be a legitimate starter and that he can move past bad innings.
The Bad: The Xavier outfield struggled mightily with some of the fly balls coming off the FSU bats. Multiple times in the game an Xavier outfielder had a shot at getting an out, but for whatever reason, let the ball slip through his glove or overshot it altogether. This was especially interesting because their infield was comparatively dominant.
The Ugly: Xavier pitching once again doomed it against the Seminoles. Despite leading 2-0 early, the Musketeers had no answer on the mound to maintain a lead. Both pitchers Nick Zwack and Matt Kent gave up at least three earned runs and had less than five strikeouts combined.
Studs of the Game: Cole Sands threw for five innings and allowed just two earned runs total. He also notched a career-high nine strikeouts. On the offensive side, J.C. Flowers showed improvement from last season and grabbed two hits with two runs on Saturday.
Duds of the Game: Matt Kent earned the dud of the game for his pitching against FSU. In a little over two innings, he allowed four earned runs and tallied just two strikeouts.
Extra Innings: I’m happy that FSU athletics brought back the box of peanuts for media members. However, the peanuts aren’t roasted — they’re raw and kind of gross. How did such a crucial step get overlooked in the process?
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