No. 7 FSU blasts Duke 16-2 in series opener
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In each of his last three starts, Florida State sophomore Luke Weaver has turned in a quality start with nothing to show for it but a trio of no decisions.
Friday night he finally got some offensive support, and plenty of it at that as Florida State defeated Duke 16-2 in the series opener at Dick Howser Stadium.
The seventh-ranked Seminoles (28-6, 11-5 ACC) belted out 16 runs on 16 hits, including a mammoth two-run homerun to right by Marcus Davis in the sixth inning. Davis finished the game 3 for 4 with two doubles, the homerun and three RBI, while John Sansone was 3 for 4 with two doubles and four RBI.
Weaver turned in yet another impressive performance as he allowed just one run on six hits and no walks, striking out six in seven innings. He improved to 4-0 on the year and lowered his ERA to 1.38 for the year.
"It's great because you know you can just attack the zone early," Weaver said. "Let them hit it, try not to strike everybody out and let them hit it. Easy as that."
The seven innings were the most the sophomore righty has thrown this season, and it was his third start of the season with no walks allowed.
"I think it gave him more confidence that we scored a lot," Sansone said. "He was more willing to do whatever he wanted on the mound. He pitched unreal tonight."
FSU scored a pair of runs in the first inning, but Duke answered with a solo homerun by Chris Marconcini in the second. It was Marconcini's eighth homer of the year.
FSU pulled away with back-to-back four-run innings in the fourth and fifth. In the fourth it was Sansone who delivered the big hit with a bases-loaded two-run single.
In the fifth John Nogowski drove in a pair of runs with single to center and later would score on a throwing error. Jose Brizuela, who was 3 for 4 with two runs scored also picked up his lone RBI in the inning as Duke starter Trent Swart (4-2) was chased from the game.
Knief, who started in right field in place of Josh Delph as the sophomore is hospitalized with a viral infection, was 3 for 4 with a double, a triple, two runs scored and two RBI. Jameis Winston also added to the offensive onslaught as he reached base four times, had one hit and scored three runs.
"We had some very, very god at-bats," FSU head coach Mike Martin said. "We scored a lot of runs obviously and it's a credit to our guys and the at-bats that they had and I'm just very, very proud of them."
In the sixth Davis put the cherry on top of the beat down with a moonshot homer over the wall in right. It was the junior's team-high sixth homerun of the year.
"Either that one or the first one I hit," Davis said when asked if the sixth-inning homer was his longest one this year. "I don't know which one went further but those two are definitely up there."
FSU and Duke will wrap up the three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 4 p.m. ET. Sophomore Brandon Leibrandt (4-3, 5.54 ERA) will get the call in the first game. Senior Scott Sitz (6-0, 0.57 ERA) will be on the bump for the series finale, which will begin 45 minutes after the first game.
Notable
Winston, who also plays quarterback for the football team, is expected to joining the team between 5:30 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. ET after the annual Garnet and Gold Game according to Martin.
FSU announced prior to Friday's game that Josh Delph had been admitted to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital with a viral infection on Thursday morning. Delph also spent time in a Miami hospital last weekend with the same infection.
DJ Stewart's RBI-single in the fourth inning extend his hitting streak to nine straight games.