No. 4 Florida State completes sweep of Virginia Tech 11-4

There was no fooling around on April Fools Day for Florida State Sunday afternoon at Dick Howser.

Thanks to a six-run first inning, powered by a Justin Gonzalez grand slam, the fourth-ranked Seminoles (24-4, 11-1 ACC) cruised to an 11-4 victory over Virginia Tech (18-12, 2-10 ACC) to complete the three game sweep.

Starting pitcher Peter Miller improved to 4-1 on the year with the win as he labored through five innings of work throwing 89 pitches and giving up two earned runs on five hits.

"For us to get six in the first was kind of deflating for the other club," FSU head coach Mike Martin said. "The way we did is what's so impressive. Two outs, nobody on base and we get six. You credit the young men that had on the gold uniforms today."

The two-out rally started with a James Ramsey walk and a Jayce Boyd single. After a Stephen McGee walk to load the bases, Gonzalez blasted his second homer of the year into the Hokies bullpen in left field.

"I was just fortunate enough to get a good pitch to hit and it went out" said Gonzalez, who finished 2 for 5 with four RBI, a double, and a home run. "I couldn't be happier."

FSU added two more runs in the inning on a two-run double by Jose Brizuela to score Seth Miller and John Holland. VT starter Andrew Aizenstadt (2-2) failed to get out of the inning as all six runs were charged to him and he took the loss giving up six earned runs on four hits and four walks in just two-thirds of an inning.

The Seminoles further extended their lead in bottom of the third with a four-run frame thanks to an RBI double from Holland, an RBI single from Devon Travis, and a two-run triple by Ramsey. Holland, who made his first career start as the designated hitter, finished the game 3 for 3 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and three runs scored.

Peter Miller tied a career-high with five innings of work, but still seemed to struggle with his command at times walking three batters and giving up a solo home run.

The sophomore righty showed good composure in the top of the second as the Hokies loaded the bases with a pair of infield hits, thanks to some unlucky bounces for the Seminole infielders, followed by a walk. But Peter Miller settled down to get out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts.

He gave up a run in top of the third after a pair of walks led to an RBI ground out for Tyler Horan. In the fourth he gave up a solo home run to Chad Pinder.

"I felt like I didn't have my best stuff and it was definitely going to be an outing where you just have to mentally bow up," Peter Miller said. "I did get myself in some jams, but I was happy with the way I pitched out of it but not happy that I got myself into them. There's definitely room to work but I felt good being able to go out there and mentally bow up when my stuff wasn't there."

Hunter Scantling replaced Miller in the sixth inning and gave up just one run on solo homer by Andrew Rash. In the seventh, Brian Busch gave up a one earned run on a hit, a walk, and a hit batter.

Kyle Bird worked a scoreless eighth inning and Mack Waugh followed with a scoreless ninth to clinch the third conference sweep of the year for FSU.

"That was an excellent weekend of baseball," Martin said after the game. "For our guys to accomplish what they did is certainly a tip of the hat from our coaching staff, because they went out there today and got it done. They didn't hold back, they didn't take anything for granted and they weren't complacent."