May 27, 2006

Box Score | Quotes | Tournament Central

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.(AP)- Florida State's Travis Anderson had three hits including a home run and the Seminoles got 5 2/3 scoreless innings of relief from Brent Marsh as FSU beat NC State 7-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament taking place at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

The win by Florida State forces a second and deciding game between the two teams to determine who plays in Sunday's championship game. The rematch between FSU and NC State will follow today's semifinal game between Clemson and Georgia Tech.

Florida State (42-18) scored in each of the first six innings, pushing across single runs in all but the fourth inning when it scored twice. As they've done much of the tournament, the Seminoles got a big boost from the bottom third of the lineup. The seventh, eighth and ninth place hitters combined for five of the team's 10 hits, scored four times and knocked in three.

None was better than Anderson who doubled, singled and homered in his first three at-bats in leading off the second, fourth and sixth innings respectively, scoring each time. Anderson had compiled only 12 hits in 30 games this season with a .245 average, but has collected seven hits in nine official at-bats playing in three of the four Florida State tournament games.

Buster Posey matched Anderson's hit total, as he singled, doubled and tripled in his first three plate appearances. The heart of the Seminoles lineup, the fourth, fifth and sixth place hitters were a combined 0-for-10, but did manage to drive in three runs.

NC State (37-20) started out as if it would match FSU's offensive attack as the Wolfpack scored three times on six hits in the first three innings. Ramon Corona hit a two-run home run which was first called a double but changed to a homer after the umpires conferred and ruled the ball hit over the outfield wall.

All of the Wolfpack runs came off Florida State starter Mark Sauls.

Marsh came on in the fourth inning and held NC State to just four hits and a walk the rest of the game. The 5 2/3 innings was a career high for Marsh who had not pitched more than three innings in a game this year.