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Florida State shined once again under the bright lights at a packed Dick
Howser Stadium on Saturday night.
The Seminoles got another complete effort en route to an impressive 9-2
victory over the Georgia Bulldogs in game two. Despite failing to reach
double digits in the run column for the first time this season, the
Seminoles still hammered out 13 hits on the evening.
Afterwards, head coach Mike Martin was happy with the nature of the win.
“It was a solid ball game,” Martin said. “We got excellent pitching from
Tyler Everett in relief of Johnny Gast. It was a good win for us. Had a
key inning of which we took advantage of a couple of key hits. It was a
ball game where I was just very pleased with how we approached it.
“I am very pleased with these young men and how they are playing right
now.”
More importantly, however, is the consistency that Saturday starter John
Gast has displayed. The junior southpaw has solidified the Seminoles
weekend rotation with three straight rock-solid starts.
Gast improved to 3-0 on the season throwing a career-high seven complete
innings, surrendering one run on seven hits, walked three, and struck
out two.
“We like to see everybody competing,” explained Martin. “Right now,
Johnny has solidified himself. I’m just very proud of the way he
continued to work on pitches that he knows he needs to have as we go
through the season. He kept his poise. I’m just very proud for him.”
Admittedly, Gast didn’t have the best stuff of his career when he took
the hill on Saturday. But the hard-throwing lefty continued to battle
and rely on the defense behind him.
While the number of strikeouts were down, it is the approach that
opposing hitters take against him at the plate that really count for
Gast.
“There were a few innings where I had to battle a little bit,” said the
Seminoles starting pitcher. “I had to get out of it. Induced a couple of
double plays. We have some guys in the middle that can turn it. The
strikeouts weren’t there, but I look more at the swings they are taking
at the ball. I got a bunch of ground balls and nothing was hit too hard.
“I pitched well, but again, three walks is something that I would like
to cut out. The only thing that I really didn’t have was an effective
curveball. That and the walks and I think I am where I need to be.”
All-American shortstop Stephen Cardullo didn’t do anything to hurt his
on base percentage as the senior from Coral Springs was about as perfect
as one could be at the plate.
Cardullo hit safely in all three of his official at bats in addition to
his two walks. Following Saturday’s contest, Cardullo is hitting a
decent .536 with an on base percentage of .659.
“I had a pretty good night tonight,” Cardullo said. “I got on base a lot
and had a lot of great at bats. That’s what contributed to my success
tonight.”
Centerfielder Tyler Holt showed drastic improvement at the plate in
relation to his nearly impossibly high standards. The junior hit safely
in three of five plate appearances and knocked in three RBI.
Holt explained that he put in some extra work before Saturday’s game.
“I wasn’t feeling right,” said Holt of his recent frustrations.
“Something was just wrong with my swing. I felt so much movement.
Everything felt comfortable, but the swing was just off. So we came in
and fixed it a little and obviously it helped out and things went my
way. Hopefully they can continue to come my way.”
Holt’s extra effort didn’t go unnoticed in the eyes of coach Martin.
“Tyler is an exceptional competitor,” Martin said. “He was not happy
with the night he had last night. He and Mike (Martin Jr.) got here
early today. He is one of those guys that is never satisfied and that is
why he is Tyler Holt. I can’t say enough about his value to our team,
not only with his production on the field, but how he approaches things
off the field. He is a heck of a leader.”
Seminoles fans will have their brooms out as Florida State aims for
their third consecutive sweep when they face Georgia at 1:00 p.m. on
Sunday. Coach Martin will send Geoff Parker to the mound to face Michael
Palazzone in the series finale.
“Now it’s Geoff Parker’s turn to go out and have a very good week,”
Martin said.
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