Florida State Seminoles baseball got off to a dominant start on Opening Day, shutting down the Xavier Musketeers for an 11-1 victory at Dick Howser Stadium on Friday afternoon.
The Good: The bats started hot and stayed that way throughout the contest. Florida State hammered Xavier for 11 runs on 13 hits, finishing with a .371 overall batting average. Those stats include nine RBIs and one home run by Nick Derr. 10 different Seminoles tallied a hit at the plate.
The Bad: Florida State fans held their collective breath for a moment in the fifth inning. Tyler Holton was having a great game on the mound through four, but then he stepped aside for a second and had the trainer come out. The junior pitcher was seen rubbing his elbow when talking to the trainer, and he was quickly pulled in favor of Andrew Karp. It doesn’t seem to be anything serious, but witnessing the potential MVP of the season indicate pain in his throwing arm is still notable.
The Ugly: Xavier had virtually no success on offense. It connected for a hit just four times in the contest and concluded with a .125 overall average. Even when Holton went out and the Seminoles looked to their bullpen, the Musketeers found themselves with no gunpowder. Their first run came in the seventh, but by then it was too late. They also struck out 14 times.
Studs of the Game: Nick Derr had a successful day at the plate, hitting the lone home run of the game and also scoring two runs. Tyler Holton was back in 2017 form with over four innings pitched and not a single earned run given up. He also grabbed six strikeouts.
Duds of the Game: Xavier’s Sam Czabala was pulled at pitcher after less than an inning. He gave up four earned runs and two hits. Chris Givin didn’t do much for Xavier at the lead-off spot, with no hits after four opportunities.
Extra Innings: The radar gun made its debut on Friday night. After recording a 133 MPH pitch from Tyler Holton in the first inning, it was quietly retired and did not show up again the rest of the game, despite pleas from the fans.
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