Florida State avoided disaster on Friday night in the first of four games at Dick Howser Stadium against Pacific. The Seminoles let a 7-run lead slip away, but were able to still get the victory thanks to an eighth-inning home run off the bat of Dylan Busby in a 9-8 victory.
The Seminoles and Tigers will play a doubleheader on Saturday before wrapping up the series on Sunday. With the win on Friday, FSU improved to 28-18.
The Good: Both teams had a good night at the plate as they combined for 17 runs, 20 hits and drew 11 walks. Despite all the base runners and offense, the game was completed in less than three hours. Fielding was also good as neither team committed an error.
The Bad: Despite each going six innings, neither pitcher recorded a quality start on Friday night. Pacific’s Justin Giovannoni actually settled in nicely after giving up eight runs over the first two innings. Cole Sands looked in line for an easy win before running into trouble early in the seventh and getting let down by the FSU bullpen.
The Ugly: The Seminoles continue to fail to put teams away. Against lowly Pacific on Friday, FSU led 8-1, but could not hold the lead. The Tigers scored seven unanswered runs. Luckily for FSU, Dylan Busby bailed the team out or this could have been an extremely demoralizing loss.
Studs of the Game: One of Saturday’s starting pitchers for FSU, Tyler Holton, got his first start somewhere other than on the mound and went 2-for-4 at the plate with a home run and three RBIs. Busby went 2-for-3 with the winning blast and three runs scored. For Pacific, James Free was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
Duds of the Game: FSU reliever Chase Haney allowed three runs in just 2/3 of an inning to let the lead evaporate. Giovannoni yielded eight runs on nine hits and six walks in six innings for Pacific.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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