Florida State (29-12, 11-9 ACC) made that trek up north and swept pay p.s. Boston College (13-26, 5-16) in a 3-game weekend series that included one showdown at Fenway Park. The Seminoles now hold a 5-game winning streak after dropping five in a row.
The Noles still have one more game before they are able to return home; FSU will travel to DeLand on Tuesday to take on Stetson after playing two games against the Hatters one week ago in Tallahassee. A win against Stetson will mean head coach Mike Martin is just two victories away from becoming the winningest coach in college baseball.
If FSU is unable to beat Stetson on Tuesday, the Seminoles will have to sweep the Miami Hurricanes at Dick Howser Stadium to crown “11” the winningest coach in baseball history at home before FSU travels to Clemson the following weekend.
1. Florida State was a part of Boston College’s annual ALS Awareness game at Fenway
For the second year in a row, the Boston College Eagles held their annual ALS Awareness game at historic Fenway Park on Saturday and more than 5,000 people came out to show their support. Pete Frates is a former captain of the Eagles’ baseball team and was diagnosed with ALS in 2012. All ticket proceeds went to help support the Pete Frates Home Health Initiative which works to provide in-home care-giving assistance for individuals living with ALS in Massachusetts.
2. Karp shines in weekend debut:
Pitcher Andrew Karp (7-3) got the starting nod on Sunday for his first weekend start of the season and he made short work of the Eagles’ offense. Karp picked up his Atlantic Coast Conference-leading seventh win of the season in Boston where he turned in six innings of work, allowing just one run on six hits and three walks. The 6-foot-2 redshirt junior righty struck out seven of the 27 batters he faced.
The Florida State rotation has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster to this point in the season; Cole Sands missed his Friday night start due to biceps tendinitis. Drew Parrish has been better than expected, but the sophomore lefty should not be tasked with carrying the rotation. Karp could be an important addition to the rotation with the experience he has gained from his midweek starts.
3. Wells stays hot up north
Senior Steven Wells is not the best hitter in college baseball, but the Boston College pitching staff thinks he is. Wells was red-hot in Boston, hitting .727 (8-for-11) with seven runs scored, four walks, and he picked up three RBIs during the 3-game series. The right fielder made the most of his time in Fenway Park on Saturday, going 4-for-5 with four runs scored.
Wells now carries the second-best batting average on the team at .298 (Drew Mendoza leads the team with a .327 average), but he leads the team with an on-base percentage of .490.
4. O’ Canada
The Seminoles may have been without the Section B Animals singing “O’ Canada”, but that did not stop the Noles from having an explosive fifth inning offensively all weekend. 13 of the Seminoles’ 32 runs scored — or 41 percent — this weekend came in the fifth inning. FSU plated five runs in the fifth on Friday night, and four runs on both Saturday and Sunday.
5. Trouble limiting BC’s offense
We’re breaking no news here, but Boston College does not bring one of the most intimidating offenses to the ballpark. The Eagles however, were able to give Mike Bell’s pitching staff trouble on Friday and Saturday, scoring 20 of the team’s 21 runs scored over the weekend in just two games.
FSU held a 10-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the seventh inning on Friday. The Eagles’ offense came alive and scored seven unanswered runs to send the game into extra innings. The Seminoles were able to plate three runs in the 11th inning which would be enough to win it, but BC made yet another rally that fell just one run short in the bottom of the frame.
Boston College did benefit from a thin rotation on Saturday, and took advantage of it early, scoring five runs in the first two innings and chasing FSU starter C.J. Van Eyk. The Eagles’ offense was slowed down by the Seminoles’ bullpen at Fenway, scoring just one run in the sixth and eighth inning off of both relievers who saw action for FSU.
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