May 24, 2003

 

CBI Live
Seminoles stay alive
Four teams with one loss to battle for ACC crown
 

By Sean Ryan

CollegeBaseballInsider.com Co-Founder
 

SALEM, Va. – After beating Virginia in the first game of the day, Florida State waited in limbo for much of the afternoon.

 

If North Carolina beat North Carolina State, the Seminoles would have taken the rest of the day off following their 10 a.m. win over the Cavaliers. If State beat UNC, FSU would play State in the nightcap.

 

While waiting to see what transpired – N.C. State won – it appears the Seminoles found their hitting shoes.

 

Top-ranked Florida State scored 10 times in the fifth inning in rolling to a 17-6 win over the previously unbeaten Wolfpack, closing the win nearly 12 hours after topping Virginia.

 

“It’s very unusual for this to develop like it did,” FSU coach Mike Martin said. “Obviously it’s all because of the weather problem we had on Wednesday.”

 

FSU (50-9-1) now awaits the winner of Sunday’s UNC-Georgia Tech game. The winner of tomorrow’s second game moves on to the final game against the Wolfpack (42-15). All four teams have lost once in the double-elimination tourney.

 

The Seminoles, who reached 50 wins for the 21st time in Martin’s 24 seasons, got a big night from Jerrod Brown, who went 3 for 4 with four runs and four RBI. Tony Richie went 3 for 4 with three runs and an RBI, and Bryan Zech added three hits as part of FSU’s 18-hit attack.

 

Brown had a two-run double, and Chris Hart added an RBI single as the Seminoles scored three times off Brandon Shipwash (1-1) to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth.

 

In the fifth, the Seminoles made the Wolfpack cry “Uncle.”

 

FSU hammered Jason Duncan for seven hits and 10 runs in an inning that lasted nearly 30 minutes. Hart and Stephen Drew had RBI doubles, and Blake Balkcom launched a three-run homer to left center to highlight the inning. Duncan threw 61 pitches in the fourth and fifth, getting five outs.

 

“It is tough on the team that has just won the biggest game of the tournament up to this point,” Martin said of the Wolfpack playing right after beating UNC.

 

Rhett James (1-3) picked up his first win, going 2.1 innings of relief.

 

Marc Maynor drove in three runs to lead N.C. State.