Evansville 100 100 001 3 7 4
FSU 500 310 41X 14 12 1

W - Sauls (2-0) L - Arreola (0-1)

Seminoles overpower the Purple Aces again
by Drew Hankin

The Seminole scoring fest continued on Saturday with a 14-3 win over Evansville in front of 3,751 fans at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. Mark Sauls (2-0) picked up his second win of the season while Tony Richie led the offensive explosion with a homerun and five RBIs. Aaron Cheesman continued to wield a hot bat, picking up a couple of single and three RBIs.

The Purple Aces managed only two runs on five hit against Sauls, who pitched five strong innings and showed very good control, walking only one batter while striking out eight. Hunter Jones, Rhett James, Daniel Davidson, and Eddie Cannon worked the final four innings of the game and only gave up two hits and an unearned run in the ninth inning.

Evansville got on the board in the first inning when thirdbaseman Mike Seafini hit a triple that went over Matt Sauls' head in centerfield. A single by firstbaseman Luke Miller brought him home to give the UE a 1-0 lead. The lead didn't last long, as starting pitcher Andrew Arreola struggled from the get-go in the bottom of the inning when Stephen Drew reached on an infield single and stole second before Tony McQuade walked. An errant pickoff throw allowed Drew to move to second and McQuade stole second before Richie hit his second homerun of the year to left-center that put the Noles ahead 3-1. After Jerrod Brown drew another walk, Chris Hart singled to left to put runners on the corners with one out. A sacrifice fly by Derrick Smith allowed Brown to score, and after Matt Sauls drew a walk, Cheesman singled home Brown to give FSU a 5-1 lead.

The Purple Aces picked up another run in when centerfielder Eric Jones homered off of Sauls in the fourth inning. FSU got it back and more in the bottom of the inning when Cheesman, McQuade, and Eddie Martinez-Esteve walked to load the bases before Richie singled to score two runs. A passed ball then allowed Martinez-Esteve to score and gaveFlorida State an 8-2 lead.

Matt Sauls led off the fifth inning with a single to left-center, stole second, took third on an errant pickoff throw that actually careened off of his helmet, and eventually scored on a error by the centerfielder.

After a scoreless sixth, FSU cranked up the offense again in the seventh
inning. Brandon Manasa pinch hit for Hart and drew a walk to lead off the inning. Smith then doubled off the screen in right before Matt Sauls reached on an infield single that allowed Manasa to score. A bad pickoff attempt by the catcher allowed Manasa and Smith to move up before Cheesman singled to center field to score them both. Cheesman then moved to second on a groundout before Martinez-Esteve brought him home with a single to left.

Florida State picked up their final run of the game when Danny Wardell hit his second homerun of the season with a shot to left in the eighth inning.

FSU improved to 7-1 on the season while Evansville dropped to 0-2. The Noles will go for the sweep on Sunday at 1:00 (weather permitting) with Trent Peterson (0-0 3.68) on the mound for Florida State.

Section B Online Player of the Game:
Tony Richie (2-4, HR, 1 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB)

We're hoping the rain holds off tomorrow till the game is over with.

Go Seminoles!!!



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