The Daily Nole

FSU Baseball: Bats Come Alive, Van Eyk to Start Saturday

Ken Lanese/FSU athletics

Entering Wednesday’s contest with Stetson, Florida State needed an offensive breakthrough. At Dick Howser Stadium against the Hatters, it got just that.

One day after being held to four hits in a 4-0 win over Stetson, the Seminoles broke through for season-highs of 18 runs and 20 hits. FSU also homered seven times as a team — the most in more than nine years.

“We needed something like this, having played a very good Florida team and a very good Duke team,” head coach Mike Martin said after the game. “We needed something like this to pick us up.”

The 18 runs was more than FSU had scored in its previous six games combined. The seven home runs came from six different players, but the most notable and biggest surprise — at least to outsiders — was the 3-run shot by relief pitcher Cobi Johnson in the seventh inning.

“It was good to see him get a chance to hit,” Martin said. “Meat (Mike Martin Jr.) has been working with him and he’s had a lot of positive things to say about the progress he’s making. When he hit the ball out, it was not a surprise. We’re going to take a look at him and see where he fits.”

Also leaving the yard for the Seminoles on Wednesday were Jackson Lueck, Rafael Bournigal, Steven Wells, Drew Mendoza and Cal Raleigh twice. Mendoza and Raleigh had been struggling coming in. On Wednesday however, Raleigh homered twice and drove in five runs while Mendoza was 5-for-6 at the plate with a pair of runs and a pair of RBIs.

“I had five (hits) in a week once,” Martin joked about Mendoza’s 5-hit day. “It was a big pick-us-up to see those guys have those kind of at-bats.”

Mendoza accounted for a fourth of FSU’s hits, but Wells was not far behind. The senior outfielder went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored.

“Steven Wells had a career-game,” Martin said. “Four hits: two bunt base hits, a home run, a double. That’s extremely impressive.”

Martin also addressed the lingering question about who would join the weekend rotation as the Seminoles head north to take on Boston College. With Cole Sands battling tendinitis, Drew Parrish will start Friday against the Eagles. Andrew Karp will get the Sunday start while freshman C.J. Van Eyk gets the ball for the middle game at Fenway Park on Saturday. Van Eyk threw 51 pitches and four perfect innings in Tuesday’s win over Stetson.

“Obviously, he will not be able to go all the way, because of his pitch count,” Martin said.

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

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