It was a warm weekend in Miami for the Noles as they headed down to play the Hurricanes in a three-game conference series.  The Saturday double-header was being played in South Beach and the Seminoles were excited to take it all in.  Andrew Kunkler came out to start it for the Noles in gold and was in control once again.  Although Kunkler did allow his first earned run of the season, he still went the distance and picked up his sixth consecutive victory to stay unbeaten on the year.  Hurricane batters struggled to put the bat on the ball as Kunkler allowed just four hits and seven baserunners.  The commanding performance was essential for the Noles, as the bats didn’t seem to travel down to Miami.  Miami jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second, but the Seminoles countered back with three runs scored by Clay Gilman, Tim Becker, and Brett Gilman, two of which were driven in by a Sean McClaskie rope.  Brett Gilman came around to score again for the Seminoles in the fifth after a clutch double to take a lead that they would not relinquish.  Although the Seminoles took Game 1 with a score 4-2, Florida State was held to a season low in runs scored at just four.

Game 2 saw the Seminole offense come out with a vengeance.  After scoring five runs in the top of the first inning, first time starting pitcher Evan Cannan was able to settle in and throw a quality three innings of zero hit baseball.  Although he lacked control at times and allowed five walks, Cannan was able to strand all but one of the baserunners for just one earned run because he matched those walks with 5 strikeouts.  Carmelo Barone took over in inning number four and threw two innings, giving up one earned run on a pair of hits and walks.  Barone recorded three strikeouts in his two innings of work and was relieved by Brett Carter in the bottom of the sixth.  Carter came in and was lights out for the Noles as the closer.  Brett faced the minimum of three batters and recorded a strikeout in his one inning of work.  Brett Gilman headlined the offensive output as he went 2-3 with a double, two runs scored, and three runs driven in.  Matthew McSoley and Sam Nadel contributed two hits a piece as well and also both scored twice.  The Seminole offense broke out of its one game slump and again broke the ten-run plateau for a 12-2 victory over the Hurricanes in Game 2 of the Saturday double-header.

The third game was controlled by FSU pitching from the get-go.  Jacob Wright was the Seminole starter and he evaded bats all afternoon as he pitched four innings of two-hit baseball, letting just one unearned run cross the plate.  Jacob built on his last start and has had two great starts in a row.  Wright was relieved by Etienne Maldonado, who again recorded strikeouts on more than half of the outs he recorded.  Maldonado threw just one inning, but struck out two batters of the four he faced.  Ray Espinosa took over for inning number six and performed admirably, facing just three batters in the sixth and did not let a baserunner reach first-base.  With the Noles up big, only seven innings were needed so Keaton Cederstrom came in to close out game number three and shut the door on the Hurricanes to complete the three game sweep.  Cederstrom allowed zero runs in his one inning of work.  It was all hands on deck for the Seminole offense in game three with nearly every rostered player seeing the field.  Timothy Becker and Sean McClaskie were fantastic at the plate, Becker going three of four with a pair of triples, runs, and RBIs while McClaskie recorded three hits in five at-bats and scored twice.  Game two starting pitcher Evan Cannan earned the start out in left field and he stroked the baseball for two hits, two runs, and an RBI.  Ryan McElroy, Tim McSoley, and Paul Giaquinto all recorded hits for the Noles as the offense kept rolling and propelled the Seminoles to a 12-1 victory and a sweep of conference foe Miami.

Offensive Player of the Series: Brett Gilman

The fifth year masters of accounting student was phenomenal at the plate this weekend.  Brett hit .500 with five hits, four runs, five RBIs, and a pair of doubles.  Gilman reached base seven times this weekend in twelve plate-appearances and helped guide the Noles to a fifth straight sweep of the Hurricanes in his tenure with the Florida State Club Baseball squad.

Pitcher of the Series:  Andrew Kunkler and Brett Carter

Andrew Kunkler has become a steady presence on the pitcher of the series list, but Kunkler earned it this weekend going the full seven innings and getting the complete game victory for the Seminoles.  While Kunkler did allow his first earned run of the year, he dominated Canes’ hitters and muscled the Seminoles to a 4-2 victory.  Brett Carter earns the other pitcher of the series with his perfect performance in the final inning of the Noles’ ten-run victory in Game 2.  Carter varied his arm slots and fooled the Miami batters, striking out one and not letting any reach base.