[dropcap]F[/dropcap]lorida State (3-0) came into the series against the College of Charleston (2-1) with arguably the hottest bats in the country. FSU outscored Rhode Island 50-6 opening weekend.
But this was not Rhode Island, as the College of Charleston is one of the top programs in the nation.
GAME ONE
Friday night was Nathan Helvey’s night and we were just living in it. Helvey threw 4.2 innings of no hit ball, stumping Florida State bats and leading the Cougars to a 2-1 win.
Right fielder Darren Miller scored FSU’s first hit with two outs in the fifth.
Helvey’s night was done after 5.1. He gave up two hits and no earned runs, while walking three batters.
His counterpart Mike Compton was also good, going 5.2 innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned.
“It was a game where their guy pitched very well and our guy pitched very well,” head coach Mike Martin said. “You say, ‘lets be ready to go tomorrow’, because there is no way I can find something to be critical about.”
CofC scratched one run across in the fourth and one more in the sixth, and that was all the Cougars needed to deliver the Seminoles their first loss of the year.
GAME TWO
Florida State was able to get the bats going again in game two, defeating CofC 8-3.
Drew Carlton picked up his second win of the season. Carlton’s final line was 6.0 IP, 7H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, and 6 strikeouts.
FSU was led offensively by sophomore Dylan Busby, who went 3-5 with 2 RBI and a triple, as well as senior John Sansone, who also went 3-5 with 2 RBI and a double.
GAME THREE
In the rubber match, FSU escaped early trouble to take the series from a very good College of Charleston team with an 11-2 win.
CofC loaded the bases with one out on a single and two walks in the first, but Cole Sands finished off the inning on a 4-6-3 double play, demonstrating a great deal off maturity as he wriggled out of his first jam as a Seminole.
FSU turned around and tagged Hayden McCutcheon, the starter for the Cougars, for three runs in the first, taking the 3-0 lead as they moved into the 2nd inning.
College of Charleston’s first baseman Bradley Jones hit his second homerun in as many days to get the Cougars on the board, making it a 3-1 game after three innings.
FSU scored three more in the fifth and four more in the seventh to cruise to the finish line.
The key to game three was errors, as CofC had six while FSU played very well in the field.
“I am very pleased with the way that we got after it today,” mentioned Martin regarding the team’s ability to avoid any errors in the field. “It feels very good to see that last column with a zero in it.”
