03-05-2004, 11:14 PM
Quote:NU 110 000 100 3 7 1
FSU 002 010 02X 5 10 0
W - Lynch (2-2) L - Sillman (0-1) S - Schultz (1)
Seminoles shuck the Huskers
by Drew Hankin
#22 Florida State defeated #14 Nebraska 5-3 on Friday afternoon in game one of the Dairy Queen Classic at the Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Noles got strong pitching and a timely eighth inning RBI-triple from Derrick Smith to down the Cornhuskers.
Hunter Jones got another no decision after 5.1 innings on the hill for FSU. Jones gave up just two runs on six hits and left the game with a 3-2 lead, but the Seminole bullpen allowed Nebraska to tie it up in the seventh. Kevin Lynch (2-2) earned the win, facing the minimum in 1.1 innings of work. Brian Schultz earned his first save of the season with a perfect ninth inning.
Nebraska struck first in the top of the first inning when left fielder Jesse Boyer led off the game with an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a single to center by third baseman Alex Gordon that gave the Huskers a 1-0 lead.
NU made it 2-0 in the next inning when designated hitter Kevin Belcher was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a bunt, and scored on a single to left by shortstop Joe Simokaitis.
In the bottom of the third inning, the FSU offense finally got going when Shane Robinson and Stephen Drew hit back-to-back singles and Eddy Martinez-Esteve was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. After Danny Wardell popped out, Aaron Cheesman hit a ball that second baseman Jake Mullinax couldn't handle, that allowed both Robinson and Drew to score to tie the game at 2-2. The Seminoles could have had more, but Bryan Zech grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Two innings later, FSU took a 3-2 lead when Drew hit a 406-foot homerun off the upper deck facade in right-field.
Jones got into a small jam in the sixth inning with a runner on second and one out, so the Noles turned to Rhett James. James struck out the next batter and got the final out of the inning on a liner to Zech at second.
James wasn't so lucky in the seventh inning, when the Cornhuskers loaded the bases with only one out. Freshman Brian Schultz was called on to face the lefty Gordon, who hit a sacrifice fly that tied the game at 3-3. Schultz then moved to left field, and Lynch was brought in from the pen. Lynch retired the final batter of the inning on a pop fly to left.
In the game-deciding bottom of the eighth, Cheesman got the rally started with a single to centerfield that extended his hitting streak to seven games, before Smith tripled off the 'baggie' in right field gave the Noles a 4-3 lead. Zech then singled up the middle to score Smith and made it 5-3 in favor of Florida State.
FSU brought Schultz back in from left field to pitch the ninth inning, where he struck out the first batter, got the second to ground out to short, and struck out the final batter to end the game.
Florida State improved to 10-4 on the season while Nebraska fell to 5-2. FSU plays next at 1:05 on Saturday against the West Virginia Mountaineers. Mark Sauls (0-1 4.00 ERA) will get the start for the Seminoles.
Section B Online Player of the Game:
Stephen Drew (3-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR)
