Section B Online

Saturday March 27, 2010

	AT BAT				BALL					STRIKE					OUT						H/E
		2	5			3					2					2					H
				1	2	3	4	5	6		7	8	9	10			RUNS		HITS			E
Maryland				1	0	0	0	0	2		2	0	0					5		9		2
FSU				3	2	0	3	2	1		1	0	X				1	2	1	1		2

'Noles continue their dominance over the Terps

Corey Dowlar, Warchant.com
http://floridastate.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1068142

Florida State has made it 38 consecutive victories over the Maryland Terrapins.

The ‘Noles got off to a slow start allowing Maryland to take the lead in the first by the slimmest of margins, but it would turn out to be false hope as Florida State stormed back taking game two 12-5 on Saturday night.

Left fielder Mike McGee led the way for the home team with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate including his 30th career home run to left field in the fourth inning scoring three runs. McGee added a double, his fifth of the season, to his dossier in the sixth.

“I felt good,” McGee said. “After my first at bat, I knew I was seeing the ball pretty well. That gave me more confidence and I was going into my second at bat feeling good about the way I was seeing things. All night, I just felt good. When you feel comfortable – good things happen.”

The Port St. Lucie native proved his worth as a defender too.

With only one out and a runner on third in the top of the sixth inning, Florida State made a pitching change when Daniel Bennett replaced starter John Gast. On the very first offering, Bennett induced a fly ball to left that McGee caught and sent a strong throw to the plate nailing Maryland runner Brandon Padula the plate.

“I had one of those at Auburn my freshman year,” said the left fielder. “Tonight was nice. I knew where I was in the outfield, that I had a good shot. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t air mail it or anything, or sometimes the ball will tail, but I wanted to get it out there and on line. Luckily, it had a nice bounce right into Rafael (Lopez’s) glove.”

Leadoff hitter Tyler Holt turned in a professional’s performance going 1-for-2 including a home run to left, two RBI, and two walks. The junior center fielder did the little things that enabled the Seminoles to get their offense going.

“Things weren’t going my way early,” Holt revealed. “But I got on base, and I was hitting him good, and I felt good at the plate. You worry about the things you can control and you don’t worry about the things you can’t. I felt happy and the last at bat, I put a good swing on it and it went out.”

Gast threw five and one-thirds innings over the course of his start allowing three runs over seven hits. The left handed pitcher only surrendered one walk while striking out four.

Perhaps the most challenging adversary of the evening for Gast was the time between innings. As the Seminoles mounted a 10-1 lead heading into the sixth, the time before returning to the hill wouldn’t allow Gast to stay in rhythm.

“Johnny had a good outing, I’m sure that he was a little disappointed in his numbers,” head coach Mike Martin said. “We were wanting him to go more than 80 pitches. We were hoping to get him around 100. He only walked one guy.

“I don’t think that there is any question that when you sit over here for a long period of time, you are not really into it as much as you would be if you were out there in a one or two run ball game. I think we jumped up 10-1 and I’m sure that had something to do with it. The last thing you want to do is walk somebody, so it was just a very good outing on his part.”

Florida State will look to sweep Maryland on Sunday as the Seminoles and Terrapins will conclude their three-game set with first pitch coming at 1:00 p.m.

Note: Maryland will not be leaving Tallahassee until Monday so there will be no travel restrictions.

Click here for a complete boxscore
Section B Online Player of the Game: Mike McGee 3-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR