James Tibbs blasts 2 HRs, Seminoles wrap up sweep with 20-7 rout
Sundays can be an adventure for many college baseball pitching staffs, particularly this early in the season. But this Sunday for Florida State and Western Carolina was one for the books.
Not only did neither team’s starting pitcher make it out of the first inning, neither one recorded an out.
Florida State sophomore Yoel Tejeda Jr., making his first appearance of the season after transferring in from Florida during the offseason, faced three batters and walked all three on 12 total pitches before being replaced.
Western Carolina starter Cannon Pickell went a little longer and fared a little worse. The junior right-hander faced five batters; he walked three, gave up two hits, surrendered four earned runs and threw two wild pitches.
By the end of the marathon first inning, the Seminoles held a 4-2 lead, and they would end up cruising to a 20-7 victory in a game that lasted 3 hours and 49 minutes. With the win, FSU improved to 6-0 while Western Carolina fell to 3-4.
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Florida State pounded out 16 hits and drew 10 walks against nine Catamounts pitchers. The Seminoles’ pitching staff settled down after Tejeda’s rough start, but it was hardly a flawless performance. Seven FSU pitchers combined to surrender seven runs (all earned) on seven hits and 10 walks.
“We did what we needed to do today,” Florida State coach Link Jarrett said. “It wasn’t as clean as you would hope on the mound. But at the end of the day, we took care of the Sunday game.”
Freshman Matt Sauser went the longest — three full innings — but he allowed three runs on three hits while recording four strikeouts. Senior Noah Short, senior Andrew Armstrong and junior Connor Hults threw one scoreless inning apiece.
The most impressive of the group might have been freshman Brady Louck, who struck out four and allowed two hits in two scoreless innings.
Florida State was led offensively once again by junior James Tibbs and sophomore Drew Faurot. Tibbs went 3-for-4 with two home runs and 6 RBIs — one of his homers was his second grand slam of the season. Faurot went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs.
Tibbs’ grand slam capped off a six-run third inning and gave the Seminoles an 11-2 lead.
“It’s just elite bat skill,” Jarrett said. “That’s the second grand slam, correct? Those moments, to have the gamesmanship and let the game come to you a little bit — and not try to do too much early in the count — he’s got that skill. He’s got the ‘hit-ability’ skill. And he’s stronger.”
The Seminoles also got two hits apiece from sophomore Max Williams and senior Daniel Cantu. Cantu went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and two walks.
Florida State returns to action Tuesday at 5 p.m. against visiting South Florida. Jarrett said he hasn’t yet made a decision who will start that game on the mound.
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