Long balls, pitching dominance help FSU finish sweep of BC in doubleheader

This Florida State baseball team is capable of winning games in a variety of ways.

It sure proved that during a Saturday doubleheader sweep of Boston College.

After the fifth-ranked Seminoles (18-1, 3-0 in ACC) smashed the Eagles with a 14-0 run-rule win in seven innings in Game 1, FSU pitched its way to a 6-2 win over BC (7-9, 2-4) to complete a sweep of the Eagles.

FSU swept the series by a combined margin of 28 to 4. After hitting four home runs in Friday’s series opener, the Seminoles hit five homers in Saturday’s doubleheader.

That was more than enough for the Seminoles’ starting rotation, which worked 17.2 combined innings vs. BC and allowed no earned runs on nine hits.

FSU picked up right where it left off Friday night in the opening game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

The Seminoles scored in each of their first four innings at the plate, jumping out to a 10-0 lead to give Jamie Arnold some serious run support in his return to the mound.

Freshman first baseman Myles Bailey opened the scoring with a monster three-run homer to dead center in the first inning. It was his third home run in as many games and sixth of the season, tying him with Drew Faurot for the team lead.

FSU plated three more runs in the second on a bases-clearing double by Alex Lodise, one of two doubles and four hits he had in the first game of the day to raise his batting average to .446.

Leadoff hitter Gage Harrelson also had four hits, capping his day off with his second homer of the season, a two-run rocket to right field, in the sixth inning. The pair at the top of the FSU lineup combined for seven RBI and three extra-base hits in Game 1.

The Seminoles had 16 hits in six innings at the plate in the opening game of the doubleheader.

That was more than enough for Arnold in his return to action after he was scratched from his start last Friday vs. Lipscomb. The FSU ace had five strikeouts through his first two innings, worked out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the third inning and largely rolled through his outing.

Because he missed a week and FSU was well ahead in the game, the Seminoles were conservative with his pitch count, pulling him after 4.2 innings and 79 pitches. Still, he was quite effective, allowing just one hit and two walks over his outing while striking out eight.

In four starts this season, Arnold has allowed eight hits and three earned runs over 20.2 innings with 32 strikeouts to four walks, posting a 0.87 ERA.

Chris Knier picked up the rest of the game from there, working 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to finish off the run-rule victory as well as the shutout.

After two offensive outbursts to begin ACC play, the FSU bats finally went dead a bit in the final game of the series.

The Seminoles put up a three-spot in the first inning anchored by a two-run homer by Max Williams. From there, they put up four straight scoreless innings and plated just three more runs over the final seven innings at the plate in the second game of the doubleheader.

Thankfully for them, the offense didn’t need much production in Saturday’s second game because of the Seminoles’ dominance on the mound.

In his ACC debut, sophomore lefty Wes Mendes again upped his game with another sensational start vs. the Eagles. He was efficient throughout his start, setting the stage for him to become the first FSU starter to throw a pitch in the eighth inning this season.

He threw a career-high seven innings vs. BC, allowing no earned runs (one unearned) on four hits with eight strikeouts and no walks. He’s allowed just two earned runs in 27.1 innings this season and has a 0.66 ERA with 43 strikeouts to three walks through his first five starts as a Seminole.

After Mendes allowed a leadoff double in the eighth, Maison Martinez came out of the bullpen and struck out the first three batters he faced to get out of the inning and then allowed one run in the ninth before closing things out.

Over the entire BC series, FSU’s pitching staff allowed two earned runs over 25 innings with 36 strikeouts to five walks. The Eagles were a combined 4 for 31 (.129) with runners on base and 1 for 15 (.067) with runners in scoring position.

Drew Faurot added his seventh homer of the season in the seventh inning and then Max Williams followed with his seventh homer of the season in the eighth inning to cap off FSU’s powerful weekend.

FSU closes out its 12-game homestand over the last few weeks with a midweek game vs. Mercer Tuesday at 6 p.m.

After that, the Seminoles are on the road for a three-game series at Miami next Thursday through Saturday.