Holton Strikes Out 13 in FSU Rout of Oakland

Florida State clinched the weekend series and improved to 8-2 on the season with a dominant 12-1 win over Oakland on Saturday. Pitcher Tyler Holton led the way while infielders Taylor Walls and Dylan Busby combined for five runs driven in.

The Good: Florida State’s lineup exploded for 12 runs on 11 hits, but the pitching staff locked down Oakland on Saturday. Holton led the way with 13 strikeouts, only surrendering two hits. Grant Stewart, Brandon Reitz, and Clayton Kwiatkowski all made relief appearances and combined to give up three hits and three strikeouts. Reitz gave up the only earned run for the Seminoles.

The Bad: Oakland’s staff did not have the same success as Florida State’s. Oakland’s starter Tyler Palm threw 4 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and 10 earned runs. Palm also hit five batters and threw 98 total pitches.

The Ugly: As bad as Oakland’s pitching staff was, the lineup struggled even more. The Golden Bears hit .152 as a team and .167 with runners in scoring position. Oakland was sat down on strikes 16 times and only managed two walks on the afternoon.

Studs of the Game: Tyler Holton turned in his second consecutive 10-plus strikeout performance. Only four of the 18 outs that Holton was on the field for were recorded by another player. The sophomore improves to 3-0 on the season after throwing six shutout innings and only giving up two hits.

Duds of the Game: Oakland’s starter had an awful outing, but designated hitter Jordan Jackson went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts on Saturday. Registering the sombrero is never good, but it is especially bad when it comes from your DH.