Recap: #16 Florida State Run Rules #5 Florida

Photo courtesy of Florida State Athletics

Florida State and Florida had very different results this past weekend. The Noles entered the weekend undefeated before heading to #3 Clemson where they were greeted with three straight losses-- losses in each of which the Noles blew 4+ run leads. Florida, on the other hand, went on the road to Baton Rouge and avenged their national championship series loss from last year by taking two of three from the Bayou Bengals. Both Florida State and Florida went with the same starting pitchers (Andrew Armstrong-FSU & Alex Philpott-UF) that were on the mound in the first matchup between these two teams in Gainesville back on March 12th. We had a packed house of 7,701 to watch this Sunshine Showdown and both fans were treated to something to cheer about early in the game.

The first inning started off with offensive fireworks for both sides. Three straight singles by Cam Smith, James Tibbs III, and Jaime Ferrer loaded the bases for 1B Daniel Cantu. The Jacksonville native then cleared the bases with a 3 RBI double to put Florida State ahead, 3-0. Philpott then settled in for the Gators and limited the damage. In Florida’s half of the 1st, a leadoff walk and a single by Ty Evans set the table for a 3-run home run by star first baseman Jac Caglianone that tied the game up before Armstrong even recorded an out. Armstrong then settled down to get the remaining three outs in his only inning of work.

It wasn't until the 4th inning that we got some more action. Florida State rattled off runs in five straight innings from the 4th through the 8th. Drew Faurot homered with one out in the 4th before an RBI single by Max Williams gave the Noles a 5-3 lead. In the 5th, James Tibbs III was hit by a pitch before the hometown hero Daniel Cantu scored Tibbs on an RBI double to extend FSU's lead to 6-3. In the 6th inning, the Seminoles scored two more runs on an RBI double by Cam Smith and an RBI single from Tibbs. In the 7th, Daniel Cantu continued his great day by homering to right center field making it 9-3 Noles at stretch time. The homer was Cantu's third extra base hit of the day.

Just when the night couldn’t seem to go any better for the for Florida State, the Gators opted to intentionally walk Cantu to load the bases in the 8th. Marco Dinges then walked to make the score 10-3, which then brought up the hot hitting Drew Faurot. The UCF transfer took a pitch deep to right center field for a grand slam to make it 14-3 and put the run rule into effect to end the game. The orange and blue faithful started making their way to the exits as the Seminole War Chant echoed throughout the Jacksonville night.

Florida State had a great effort from their bullpen as James Charles, John Abraham, and Brennen Oxford all combined to shut out the Gators following the 1st inning fireworks by Caglianone. Florida State run ruled their in-state rival, 14-3 in 8 innings to clinch the season series with one midweek game still left to play.