Section B Online

Friday May 14, 2010

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

Seminoles lose series opener with NCSU

Paul Thomas, The Osceola

Video: Mike Martin on Friday's loss

Florida State’s Friday night struggles continued as the Seminoles (37-13, 16-9) dropped the series opener to North Carolina State (32-18, 12-13) 5-2 Friday night in Tallahassee in front of a crowd of 4, 476.

It was the fourth consecutive Friday night loss for the Seminoles, and the fourth consecutive loss for starting pitcher Sean Gilmartin. Gilmartin pitched 5.2 innings, giving up five runs, four earned, striking out six, and walking just one batter, as he fell to 6-6 on the year.

The Seminoles got off to a good start, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. In the second they left the bases loaded but, seemed to have a good read on Wolfpack starter Jake Buchanan.

But after the first two innings Buchanan settled in, allowing just one hit in his final 5.1 innings of work, to finish the game with a line of 7.1 innings pitched, two earned runs, six strikeouts, and two walks to improve to 6-4 overall this season.

“You’ve got to just say it was a beautifully pitched ball game by Jake Buchanan,” FSU head coach Mike Martin said. “You just take your hat off to him. He was very impressive from obviously the second inning on. We didn’t get a sniff off of him, some nights that happens.”

After Mike McGee and Sherman Johnson each drove in a run in the first inning, FSU loaded the bases with two outs in the second. Stuart Tapley stuck out looking to leave the bases loaded and squander a chance for FSU to break the game open.

“You hate to sit there and say is this going to comeback and haunt us?” Martin said. “I’m sitting over there saying ‘holy smokes, we had him on the ropes. In a pickle, one base hit and we’ve got a four run ball game,’ but it just didn’t happen.”

Much like the offense things started out good for Sean Gilmartin as well. Gilmartin didn’t give up a hit until a Drew Poulk single in the fourth inning. Then on a full count Gilmartin gave up a two-run homer to Wolfpack first baseman Harold Riggins to tie the game at two.

After giving up one run in the fifth, Gilmartin gave up another two-run homer to third baseman Anderew Ciencin as NC State extended the lead to 5-2.

“I don’t think I was missing too badly,” Gilmartin said. “They were just putting the ball in play really. I had some good pitches and some bad pitches.”

Gilmartin, who posted a 12-3 record last year a freshman and never lost consecutive starts, said that his current four-game skid has not been very much fun for him at all.

“Pretty frustrating,” he said. “That’s pretty much all I can say about that.”

Despite the loss, Florida State maintains a two-game advantage over Clemson for first place in the ACC Atlantic division, as the Tigers lost to Wake Forest 9-5.

“I just know that tomorrow night is one of the biggest games that is on our schedule right now,” Martin said. “The next five are extremely important.”

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Section B Online Player of the Game:

Tyler Holt
2-3, 1 R, HBP, SB