No. 2 Florida State Baseball Opens Season vs. VMI


#2 FLORIDA STATE
The 2003 Seminoles, ranked as high as No. 2 (Collegiate Baseball) in the
preseason polls, open the season with a three-game series against VMI in
St. Petersburg. Senior left-hander Matt Lynch returns as the Friday
starter and he will be followed by junior right-hander Marc LaMacchia
and junior lefty Trent Peterson in the rotation. Lynch is a preseason
All-American and has compiled a 29-4 career record at FSU. Senior Daniel
Hodges led the team with 12 saves last season and is back in his role as
the closer. Sophomore shortstop Stephen Drew and junior catcher Tony
Richie, who both earned preseason first team All-American honors, are
expected to pace the Seminoles offensively.

VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE
VMI returns 24 lettermen as it looks to improve on a record of 10-41 in
2002. The Keydets will throw three right-handers at FSU with Duke Acors
(2-11, 6.45 ERA in '02) taking the mound Friday, followed by Phil
Hendrix (3-10, 5.74 ERA) and Jimmy Thoms (0-1, 8.62 ERA). Catcher Andy
Barden (.274, 5 HR) and second baseman Jason Annis (.308, 24 RBI) lead
the way among VMI's returning starters.

THE SERIES
Florida State leads the all-time series 6-0, which dates back to 1990.
FSU has outscored VMI 63-11 in those six contests, but two of the wins
came in one-run games. The Seminoles swept a three-game home series in
1990 by final scores of 17-1, 3-2 & 8-0. FSU took three more in
Tallahassee in '92 (10-4, 20-0 & 5-4).







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