College of Charleston
Florida State
No. 10 FSU Edges No. 15 @CofCBaseball
5/31/2015 3:15:00 AM | Baseball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – No. 10 Florida State outlasted No. 15 College of Charleston baseball, 3-2, to advance to the finals of the NCAA Division I Championship Tallahassee Regional in front of a raucous crowd of 3,562 fans on Saturday night at Dick Howser Stadium.
Charleston (44-14) will now face Auburn in an elimination game on Sunday at noon, with the winner advancing to the championship round against Florida State, needing to beat the Seminoles twice.
The game was a stoic pitchers' duel, with Cougar starter Brandon Glazer tossing a complete game, and holding the Seminoles to three runs on seven hits, while his FSU counterpart Boomer Biegalski reduced the Cougars to five hits across 7.2 innings.
After a two-run fifth frame gave FSU a lead which they carried into the late innings, the Cougars were down to their final four outs when Alex Pastorius doubled with two outs in the eight, followed by a game-tying homerun to left off the bat of Carl Wise.
FSU's Quincy Nieporte, who had previously grounded into a pair of rally-squashing double plays, lined the game-winning homerun to left in the bottom half of the eighth, and relievers Dylan Silva and Billy Strode recorded CofC's four remaining outs in order to propel the Seminoles to the championship.
“It was a good baseball game and you have to give Florida State a lot of credit,” said head coach Monte Lee. “Their starting pitcher was as good as advertised. He has a big-league changeup and had great command of both of his pitches. We had a hard time laying off his pitches and chased throughout the ball game, but we are an aggressive ball club.
“We stepped up in the eighth inning with two outs, but their guy in the bottom of the eighth put a good swing on what I thought was a good pretty good pitch. I couldn't be more proud of Brandon Glazer. This guy has done a phenomenal job for us. He is a fifth-year guy; was an everyday position player for us, and converted to a pitcher and won 10 games for us. I couldn't be prouder of him as a young man. He competed in what was one of the best atmospheres I've been a part of in college baseball. He did an outstanding job. Carl Wise, he has been an All-American type guy since he's been here, and when we needed him most, he really stepped up in a big situation against a really tough arm. I'm proud of our guys.”
Glazer falls to 10-2 on the year, despite his complete-game performance which kept the Cougars in the game. He scattered seven hits and operated effectively under pressure, ultimately stranding six base runners and pitching Nieporte into a pair of critical double plays.
The Cougars had opportunities of their own, bat batted .091 (1-for-11) with runners on base and .143 (1-for-7) with runners in scoring position.
Freshman Ryan Brown led off the game with a hard-hit double into the corner in right, but was ultimately stranded after a strikeout and back-to-back bounce outs.
Glazer worked the bases full with a hit batsman and walk in the bottom of the first, but worked out of the inning unscathed with a foul out to first base and 6-4 putout at second.
“It was a great environment to play in,” said Glazer. “In the first inning, I was trying to be too fine with my pitches, but after that I settled in and attacked the strike zone.”
The fifth-year senior also found trouble in the third after a second hit batsman and a single to right, but forced Nieporte to roll a ball over to Wise at third base for an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
Nick Pappas doubled to the wall in right with one out in the fourth, setting a new program record for doubles in a season, but faced the same fate as Brown as the ensuing Cougar hitters struck out and grounded out to end the inning.
FSU plated the game's first runs in the bottom of the fifth. Taylor Walls led off the inning with a single up the middle, followed by a walk to Danny De La Calle and RBI singles by Josh Delph and DJ Stewart, both of which found their way through the middle of the infield. Glazer limited the damage there, forcing Nieporte into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Following the Pappas double, Biegalski retired nine straight before giving up a double into the gap in left center by Pastorius with two outs in the eighth. Wise followed with his 12th homerun of the year, driving the first pitch he saw out to the scoreboard in left.
After a flyout to start the bottom half, Nieporte got his redemption when he lined a 2-1 pitch out to left to put FSU back on top for good.
The Cougars turn to Nathan Helvey against Auburn on Sunday, who will deal opposite Tiger starter Dalton Rentz. The game is scheduled to start at noon and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
“This isn't deflating,” said Lee. “I'm proud of my players. All I can ask of these guys is to compete for nine innings pitch by pitch, and in the game of baseball it is not always going to work out. It is a hard game, especially against a team like Florida State who is as well coached as they are in an environment like we played in tonight.”
POSTGAME NOTES
For the sixth week in a row, the Cougars are ranked in all five polls recognized by the NCAA. The Cougars are currently ranked No. 15 by both the NCBWA and D1Baseball, No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, No. 18 according to Baseball America, and No. 25 by Collegiate Baseball.
CofC falls to 13-13 across seven postseason appearances. Charleston is 7-7 in four postseason appearances under Monte Lee.
Nick Pappas hit his 28th double of the season, breaking the previous record of 27 held by Cole Rakar (2010) and D.J. Wabick (2005).
