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Quote:MSU 000 000 000  0  5  2
FSU 000 011 20X  4 10  1

W - Sauls (1-1)  L - Gerbe (1-1)

Seminoles sweep with a shutout over MSU
by Drew Hankin

Florida State got a 4-0 five-hit shutout over the Michigan State Spartans on Sunday to complete the three game sweep in front of 3,086 fans at Dick Howser Stadium. Mark Sauls, Rhett James and Brian Schultz combined for the strong effort on the hill for the Noles, while Aaron Cheesman extended his hitting streak to fourteen games, and led the offense with three hits and two RBIs.

"I can't say enough about Aaron Cheeseman - his leadership, he's a great competitor and he's very intelligent," Seminole skipper Mike Martin said. "He's a guy that works well with the pitchers, the umpires, and coaches. If you have to say who is our MVP right now, and I don't give MVPs because it takes all 30 of us to be successful, but as of right now I'd tell you it's Aaron Cheeseman."

Sauls (1-1) picked up his first win of the season, going five innings, only giving up four hits while walking two and striking out four batters. James was dominating during his three innings on the mound, giving up only one hit while striking out six batters. Schultz threw a scoreless ninth to end the game.

Spartan starter Jeff Gerbe kept the Seminoles handcuffed into the fifth inning before finally giving up a run on Ryne Malone's first career homerun, a shot over the screen in right-center.

Michigan State threatened in the top of the sixth inning with a lead-off double that chased Sauls from the game. James then entered the game and surrendered a hit that put runners on second and third with no outs,
before striking out the the next three batters to end the inning.

"Rhett is a very composed and poised young man," said Mike Martin.  "He came in there with a man on second after we made a big defensive lapse when we threw the ball in - we just sat there and let the ball roll and the guy goes to second base. Now they have a chance with guys on second and third and nobody out. You could have put yourself in a hole - with a basehit you are down by one. He did a great job of keeping his composure even though we took him out of a double play by making that mistake. He composed himself and got us in the dugout with nobody scoring. No question it was the key defensive play of the game."

The Noles picked up their second run in the bottom of the sixth when Cheesman led off with an infield single and took second on a bad throw by MSU third baseman James Moreno. After a single to right by Derrick Smith moved Cheesman over to third, Shane Robinson brought him home with a ground out double play.

FSU capped the scoring in the seventh frame with a two-out rally that started when Gibbs Chapman drew a walk. After Eddy Martinez-Esteve reached on an error by shortstop Alan Cattrysse, Cheesman doubled to left-center to bring him and Chapman home to make it 4-0.

"I just think I'm getting good counts and when I'm getting a good pitch to hit I'm hitting it," junior catcher Cheesman said.  "When you get out your first two or three times during a game you can't be discouraged because you never know what can happen at the end of the game. You have to come out and deliver a hit, or get a walk at the end of the game to get on base. I've just been getting good pitches to hit and making good swings on them."

The Seminoles improved to 16-5 on the season while the Spartans fell to 4-7. FSU now has a couple of days off before hosting the Jacksonville Dolphins on Wednesday at 6:00. Brian Chambers (1-0, 9.00 ERA) will make his second start for the Noles. Stephen Drew is expected back after missing the whole Michigan State series with an injury.

Section B Online Player of the Game:
Aaron Cheesman (3-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2B)