Tallahassee, FL -- Junior Rob Kumbatovic (Hillsborough, NJ) limited Florida State to just three runs on nine hits in a complete game effort and the Pride came tantalizingly close to pulling an upset, though the Seminoles escaped with a 3-2 victory in the nightcap of a doubleheader Saturday at Dick Howser Stadium. The Pride (0-3) dropped the opener, 21-7.
Kumbatovic gave his team a chance to beat the seventh-ranked Seminoles, throwing exactly 100 pitches and logging four strikeouts, including a punch out of Stuart Tapley to end his evening, marking his fifth complete game since 2008.
The Pride putting the tying run on second with one out in the ninth. Mark Stuckless (Kanata, Ontario, Canada) tried to advance to third on a pitch that skipped away from catcher Rafael Lopez, though the backstop retrieved the ball in time and threw out Stuckless at third for the second out. Closer Jimmy Marshall picked up the save with a strikeout two pitches later.
Hofstra led 1-0 in the fifth and, after falling behind, put the potential go-ahead runs on base in the sixth and seventh innings, putting a scare in the 2008 College World Series qualifiers. The Pride nearly pulled off its first win over a ranked opponent since beating No. 15 Old Dominion at home on March 7, 2006.
While Kumbatovic found a rhythm, Florida State freshman Sean Gilmartin also was crisp in his first collegiate start, limiting Hofstra to seven hits in six innings. The freshman southpaw exited in the seventh as the pitcher of record after logging four strikeouts as the four-time ACC champion Seminoles improved to 3-0.
The Pride supported Kumbatovic (0-1) by breaking a scoreless tie in the fifth. Senior Tom Legregni (Paramus, NJ) executed a hit-and-run double by going the other way, putting two runners in scoring position with one out. Junior Matt Prokopowicz (Massapequa, NY) got the job done the next at-bat, recording an RBI groundout to short that plated Stuckless for a 1-0 Hofstra lead.
But Mike Meschke quickly brought the Seminoles even, lining an opposite-field single to tie it up in the bottom of the inning. Tyler Holt followed that up by ripping a RBI double down the third base line before Kumbatovic settled down and got the strikeout to end the fifth, keeping the deficit at 2-1.
Hofstra had a chance to do some damage in the sixth, putting runners on the corners before a double-play ended the threat. Florida State took advantage of the clutch pitching. Mike McGee, who had a three-RBI game in the season opener, extended Florida State's lead to 3-1 by lifting a solo home run to left in the home half of the sixth.
Hofstra answered right back, loading the bases with two outs in the seventh to chase hard-throwing reliever Tyler Everett. Righty Brian Busch came in and the Pride quickly pushed across a run on a passed ball to make it 3-2. That would be as close as the visitors would get, leaving two runners in scoring position heading into the seventh inning stretch.
A pitcher's duel in the nightcap was the dichotomy of the slugfest in the twin bill's opener. The Seminoles jumped out to an early lead en route to a 21-7 Game 1 victory. While Hofstra's pitchers struggled, junior Matt Wynn (Oceanside, NY) provided a gutsy effort to spare the rest of the bullpen. The natural outfielder tossed 1 2/3 innings in relief to preserve the pitching staff for the nightcap.
Florida State didn't accumulate many hits through two innings, but timely hitting allowed the Seminoles to surge to a 10-run lead. Hofstra walked eight batters and hit two more through the first two frames. Jason Stidham's bases-loaded two-run single through the right side opened the scoring. Two bases-loaded walks and Tyler Holt's bunt single up the third base line contributed to the six-run first that chased senior starter Bobby Neelon (0-1) after 2/3 of an inning.
Neelon (Needville, TX) nearly got out of the inning with just two runs before a throwing error extended the inning. Just two of his six runs were earned.
Scott A'Hara (Downingtown, PA) entered in relief and also struggled finding the strike zone. The lefty escaped a bases load jam in the first and nearly duplicated the feat before Rafael Lopez launched a grand slam over the right-centerfield wall that followed two walks and a hit batsman. All nine Seminoles starters scored at least one run by that point.
Tapley added a three-run shot that fell just in front of the leftfield scoreboard in the third and Ohmed Danesh took A'Hara deep over the right-centerfield wall for a pinch-hit three-run shot, extending the advantage to 16-0.
Senior centerfielder Nick Panzarella (Three Bridges, NJ) put the Pride on the scoreboard in the fourth, driving in Dion Pouncil (Chicago, IL) via a single against Florida State starter John Gast. Panzarella logged a two-hit game and also reached on an error in the fifth that knocked Gast out of the game, though he still received credit for his second RBI by moving the runner in from third with a ground ball to the right side.
Freshman catcher Gianni Masci (Franklin Square, NY) made his first collegiate hit count one inning later, pulling the ball down the leftfield line for a two-run single in a five-run Hofstra fifth in the seven-inning contest.
Hofstra will conclude its four-game set against the Seminoles Sunday afternoon. First pitch from Mike Martin Field is set for 1 p.m.
| " >-30-Click here to see post-game comments from Hofstra Head Coach Patrick Anderson |
