Cards Fall to Seminoles in Game 1

Mark BlankenbakerMay 9, 2015

In a matchup of top 10 clubs, No. 7 Florida State used a fast start to knock off the second-ranked Louisville baseball team 13-4 in Friday night’s series-opener at Jim Patterson Stadium.

In front of a school record crowd of 6,138, the Seminoles (37-14, 17-8 ACC) plated three runs in the first inning and three more in the second inning en route to handing the Cardinals (38-12, 21-4 ACC) their worst loss of the season. It marked the most runs allowed by Louisville since suffering a 16-3 loss to eventual national champion Arizona in the 2012 NCAA Regional in Tucson.

Senior Zach Lucas (Louisville, Ky.) led the way on a tough night for the Cardinals finishing 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two RBI. Freshman Brendan McKay (Darlington, Pa.) added a two-run double, while sophomore Corey Ray (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in with a single, a walk and two runs scored. On the mound, junior righty Kyle Funkhouser (Oak Forest, Ill.) suffered his second straight loss and dropped to 6-4 on the season after allowing six runs, including five earned, on six hits with six strikeouts and five walks in five innings.

After a one-out single from John Sansone and back-to-back walks for DJ Stewart and Quincy Nieporte loaded the bases, Chris Marconcini delivered a two-run single to right center for the first runs of the night. Dylan Busby added a RBI sacrifice fly for the 3-0 lead for the Seminoles.

An inning later, FSU pushed the advantage to 6-0 with a three-run second inning, including two earned runs. Josh Delph led off the inning with walk and after moving to second on a single by Sansone, scored on a fielding error by Louisville second baseman Nick Solak (Woodridge, Ill.). Nieporte followed with a RBI single before Stewart added the final run of the inning scoring from third on a throw down to second by the Cardinals as Marconcini stole second.

Louisville plated its first run of the night in the second inning on a solo home run by Lucas, who sent a 0-1 pitch from Seminoles starter Boomer Biegalski over the left field wall. The Cardinals added another run in the fourth on a two-out RBI double down the left field line by Lucas to score Ray, who walked earlier in the inning.

Following a run in the top of the sixth for the Seminoles on a RBI double by Stewart, Louisville answered in the bottom of the inning on a two-run double down the right field line by McKay to score both Solak and Ray and pull the home club with three at 7-4.

However, that was as close as the Cardinals would get after Florida State scored the final six runs of the game. The game-ending scoring stretch started with a three-run seventh inning against Louisville righty Anthony Kidston (Defiance, Ohio) highlighted by an RBI single from Taylor Walls, an RBI groundout by Danny De La Calle and a RBI single from Stewart.

The Seminoles added pair of runs in the eighth inning on a two-run homer by Ben DeLuzio before scoring the final run of the night on a passed ball in the ninth. Stewart closed the night 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while DeLuzio was also 2-of-4 with a pair of RBI and scored twice. On the mound, Biegalski was credited with the win on the mound and improved to 5-3 on the season after allowing four runs on five hits in five innings.

The Cardinals will look to even the series with the Seminoles on Saturday at 1 p.m., ET at Jim Patterson Stadium and admission is free. Television coverage will be provided by ESPN3 and the game will also be aired on 93.9 The Ville.