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FSU stays unbeaten, sweeps BC with 9-1 win

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No. 5 Florida State continued its torrid start to the 2013 season with a 9-1 win to complete a three-game sweep over Boston College Sunday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium.
Jose Brizulea went 3 for 4 with a triple, and tied his career-high with four RBIs. John Nogowski drove in a pair of runs, while D.J. Stewart was credited with the only other RBI.
Peter Miller improved to 3-0 on the year with another solid start, as he pitched 5.2 innings of shutout baseball. FSU improved to 15-0 and 3-0 in the ACC. It marks just the third time since 1975 the Seminoles have opened the season with 15 straight wins, and the first since starting 23-0 in 2007.
"Anytime you're able to win three games on a weekend in an Atlantic Coast Conference series you have to be extremely pleased and I was," head coach Mike Martin said. "I thought Peter Miller pitched 5 2/3 of very good baseball and we got good relief out of Jayboo (Jameis Winston) and Mamba (Brandon Johnson)."
The strong outing was the third straight for Miller, who started off the season with a rocky outing. The Eagles (3-10, 0-3 ACC) recorded a pair of bloop hits in the first inning, which normally is the type of thing that causes Miller to unravel a bit.
But the junior settled down and induced a ground out to first to end the scoring threat.
"I think in the past a hit and an error, or a hit and walk have snowballed on him," pitching coach Mike Bell said. "He got two dinks. If anybody was not watching the game and you're watching on gametracker, they go two duck farts. He made great pitches, but was in a first and third situation… I believe he threw 1-2 changeup and the guy hit a weak groundball to Nogo and we're in the dugout. That's the process of even though they got a couple hits, slowing things down and knowing I'm one pitch away from being out of this thing."
Miller finished the game with no runs allowed on six hits and two walks, to go with seven strikeouts. He threw 101 pitches, leaving the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning.
Winston bailed Miller out as he quickly got out of the jam with a ground ball to Brizuela at third to end the top half of the inning. Winston pitched 1.2 innings of relief, gave up one earned run on four hits and walk, leaving the game in the eighth inning with one out and the bases loaded.
Just like Winston did before him, Johnson got out of the jam with a groundball, inducing a 4-6-3 double play with just one pitch. Johnson allowed just two hits in his 1.2 innings pitched.
FSU scored its first three runs on wild play in the second inning. With two runners on, Brizuela laced a line drive to left. It would have just been a one-run single, but BC leftfielder Logan Hoggarth let the ball get by him for a two-run error, as Brizuela slid head-first into home.
"Honestly in my head I was just saying, 'Keep going, keep going,' so I could go to third," Brizuela said. "When I looked up on my way to third, I saw Meat (Mike Martin Jr.) sending me. I was dead honestly, but I kept hustling and at the end I just slid there and just tried to rest a little on the ground."
After the second inning, Boston College starter Andrew Chin got rolling as he didn't allow another run until the sixth inning. Chin was forced to leave the game is the sixth after Knief smashed a line drive double off of his knee. Knief came around to score on a Brizuela single.
Chin, who walked off the field on his own power, finished the game with four runs allowed, just two earned, on six hits and two walks, while striking out two in 5.1 innings.
The double was the second hit of the day for Knief, who finished the game 2 for 3 with a double, three runs scored and walk.
"I didn't really change much, just another day at the ballpark and was just fortunate some balls fell," the junior outfielder said. "I thought my last at-bat was good, I drew a walk and our team played great today and hopefully we'll carry that into Tuesday."
FSU pulled away for good with a five-run seventh inning that started with an RBI double by Stewart to dead center. Nogowski then plated two more with a double down the left field line. FSU added two more on Brizuela's third hit of the day, a two-run triple to right center.
It was the second straight three-hit day for the sophomore, who was 3 of 4 with a triple, four RBI and a run scored.
"It wasn't just me," Brizuela said. "There was two-out walks and great at-bats by my teammates and that helped me get some good pitches so I could drive them."
FSU returns to action on Tuesday night as it leaves Tallahassee for the first time this season to face the University of Florida (8-9) in Gainesville at 7 p.m. ET. Luke Weaver (2-0, 0.64 ERA) will get the start for the Seminoles.
Notable
FSU is now on 17-game winning streak in its Sunday gold uniforms, with a perfect 5-0 record in them so far in 2013.
With an 0 for 4 day at the plate, Sunday's game was the first time this season that freshman John Sansone didn't get on base.
Boston College actually out-hit FSU on Sunday 12-11, but the Eagles left 12 runners on base.
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