Florida State baseball’s offense is firing on all cylinders as the Seminoles run-ruled Northern Kentucky 17-3 on Sunday, capping off a perfect 5-0 week that saw the program score 66 runs.
The Seminoles (13-2) outscored the Norse 37-9 in the March 6-8 weekend series at Dick Howser Stadium. In the series finale, FSU scored 10 runs in the first inning, which included a pair of home runs – from Myles Bailey and another from John Stuetzer, his first as a Seminole.
FSU’s performance should bode well for its showdown at Florida Tuesday. The Gators (14-3) are coming off a home series loss to High Point, dropping the first two games and needing a four-run ninth inning in Sunday’s finale to avoid the sweep.
In FSU’s win Sunday, Bailey started the scoring with an RBI double, quickly followed by singles from Kelyvn Paulino Jr, Nathan Cmeyla, and Will Bavaro to put FSU ahead 6-0. Stuetzer and Bailey both hit two-run blasts to go ahead 10-0 by the end of the first inning.
Brayden Dowd, who had missed over a week with a shoulder injury, returned to the Seminoles lineup in the win. He showed no signs of rust or lingering pain in the shoulder as he went 2-for-3, both hits home runs, four RBI, and four runs scored alongside a walk.
After a Bavaro RBI double and a Noah Sheffield ground out that scored a run, Dowd hit his first home run in the fifth inning, a solo shot to put FSU ahead 13-3. In the sixth, Paulino would record his second RBI of the day with a single before Dowd hit a three-run blast that pushed FSU ahead 17-3.
The Norse scored three in the top of the second inning, the only spark of offense for the ballclub in the game. Northern Kentucky finished the game with four hits and one walk, with three of the hits coming in the second.
The three runs allowed didn’t take away from a strong performance for FSU starter Bryson Moore. He struck out seven batters and allowed little action on the basepaths. Cole Stokes replaced him in the sixth, and he struck out two of the three batters he faced in a hitless inning of relief.
Manny Lantigua closed out the game for FSU, and he struck out a pair and retired the side in order, which bookended the run-rule win and series sweep.
What’s next for FSU baseball? A road trip to face rival Florida
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU baseball secures sweep with run-rule win over Northern Kentucky
Reporting by Liam Rooney, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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