Florida State (3-0) opened the 2018 season this past weekend with a sweep over the Xavier Musketeers (0-3), and head coach Mike Martin is now just 29 game shy of becoming the winningest coach in college baseball history.
Here at The Daily Nole, we looked back at the weekend series and compiled a list of five things the Noles did well or struggled with. Here’s a look at what we were able to conclude after the first series of the season at Dick Howser Stadium:
1. Local Talent Shines
Three Tallahassee natives shared action on the mound in the opening weekend. Two Lincoln graduates pitched against Xavier, All-American Tyler Holton, and freshmen Austin Pollock. North Florida Christian alum Cole Sands also had a career-outing for the Seminoles.
Holton, Sands, and Pollock combined to toss 13 2/3 innings for the Noles. The three arms surrendered seven hits, two earned runs, one walk, and struck out 20 batters. Holton’s day was cut short due to an apparent injury; he left after just 4 2/3 innings. Holton allowed his first hit and walk in the fifth inning before he was pulled by the trainer. Sands bounced back from a rough first inning to strike out a career-high nine in the middle game of the series.
2. Young Bats Are Alive
Five new Seminoles saw action in week one of the season. Second basemen Rafael Bournigal and shortstop Mike Salvatore started in all three games over the weekend, and they combined for a .272 average while walking six times, and crossing the plate an additional six times. Bournigal and Salvatore also added four RBIs to their opening weekend success.
Two freshmen were also able to get their first collegiate knocks out of the way in the Florida State’s 11-1 rout over Xavier in the first game of the series. Reese Albert and Cooper Swanson both singled while Albert finished the game with two RBIs.
3. Seminoles’ Bullpen Rises to the Occasion
We may only be three games into the season, and Xavier might not be the best hitting team in the country, but the Florida State bullpen was dominant when called upon. Six different names were called on to make relief appearances for Mike Martin and they did not allow an earned run in 11 1/3 innings pitched.
Cobi Johnson was the big named called on in the first game of the season. This was the first time Johnson has pitched since being sidelined following Tommy John Surgery. Johnson worked two innings, allowing one hit and striking out four. Austin Pollock made things easy for the coaching staff on Saturday. Pollock picked up the 4-inning save where he only allowed three hits while sitting down five Musketeers by way of the strikeout.
Two freshmen made their first college appearances on Sunday. Conor Grady and Jonah Scolaro combined to toss three shutout innings, allowing one hit and striking out six. Grady made things seem easy striking out the first four batters he faced, and five out of the six batters that opposed him.
4. Stranded Seminoles
Florida State struggled offensively when it came to leaving runners on base in 2017, and it appears that carried over into 2018, at least in the first week of the season. The Noles left 31 runners on base against Xavier over the three games.
As a team, Florida State hit .211 (4-for-19) with runners in scoring position on Friday, and .214 (3-for-14) on Saturday. The Noles hit .286 with runners in scoring position on Sunday, but only had three hits on the day. Two of those hits were with runners in scoring position though which can be reassuring.
5. 3-0
Opening weekends are special, for the fans and the coaches. Baseball is officially back in Tallahassee, and Mike Martin and his staff finally had the opportunity to evaluate what they have on the field when it really matters.
One can expect that we will see some shifting in the lineup, and pitching coach Mike Bell will work with “11” to figure out what arms are called upon first out of the bullpen. Still, fans should be excited about the 2018 season and what this team has to offer.
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