The Tar Heels of North Carolina rolled into town this weekend to take on your Florida State Seminoles in and early season out-of-conference matchup.  Andrew Kunkler toed the rubber first for the Noles and delivered his second win of the season.  Kunkler threw four strong innings allowing just four baserunners, zero runs, and struck out four Tar Heel batters.  The offense erupted in the second inning for eight runs and the Noles never looked back scoring nineteen runs in just five innings.  Leading the charge was Brett Gilman who went three-for-three with four RBI's and a pair of runs.  Clean-up hitter Jake Jacobs got hot as well in Game 1 going two-for-three with both a pair of RBI's and runs.  Freshman Sam Nadel was on the unlucky end of an astounding three bean balls, but came around to score each time.  Seniors Clay Gilman and Ryan McElroy split the game at shortstop and combined for five runs batted in.  Brett Carter entered to pitch in the fifth inning and closed out the game for the Noles, leaving with a 19-4 victory.  Keaton Cederstrom started Game 2 on the mound for the Noels, but struggled with command and a tight zone early and was bounced after just one and third.  Fearless scorekeeper Chase Doczi had to put his duties aside and take over pitching in the second inning providing the Noles with five innings of relief to pick up the win.  Doczi only threw fifty-four pitches over those five innings and allowed just two runs on four baserunners.  The offense again reached the ten-run plateau led by Philly-fanatic Lou Copley's three-for-four, three run performance.  Sean McClaskie provided a spark early doubling home two runs in the first and Jake Jacobs bolstered his already strong day with an RBI in each of the first two innings.  Sean Paul Perry scored two runs as well and made a spectacular diving catch that saved a couple of runs to end the second inning.  With the lead, the Seminoles turned to sophomore ET Maldonado and he didn't disappoint, striking out two and earning the save to end the game.  The final score of game two was 10-8, the Seminoles narrowly escaping and offensive battle.  With the first two games in hand, the Noles eyed the sweep on Sunday with rookie club member Jacob Wright taking the mound.  Wright had to grind through three arduous innings, but managed to leave the Noles with a lead that they would never relinquish.  Clay Gilman started the bottom of the first being hit by a curveball bringing up junior Tim Becker to the plate.  With a two-two count, Becker unleashed on a fastball to right field that cleared the fence for the Noles' first home-run of the season!  Becker's home-run set the tone for the rest of the game in which the Noles put up ten-plus runs for the fifth time in six games this season.  Sean Paul Perry contributed in a multitude of ways in Game 3 going three-for-five with five RBI's and pitching two innings of relief for the Noles earning himself a hold.  ET Maldonado came on again in relief for the Noles and again did his thing throwing two scoreless innings of lights out baseball.  Nathan Grant caught his second full-game of the weekend and plated the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to seal the victory for the Noles by a score of 18-8.  The Seminoles offense looks to be getting hot at the right time, combining for 47 RUNS in just nineteen innings of baseball, averaging just about two and a half runs per inning.  Let's hope the offense continues next week against conference foe, the University of Florida.

Offensive Players of the Series:  Brett Gilman & Tim Becker

Gilman notched the most hits for the Noles going five-for-seven with two doubles, two sacrifice-flies, two runs, and five RBI's.  Brett's steady presence in the heart of the order anchored the Noles offense and led the way to such an electric offensive team performance.  With so many deserving candidates, we couldn't limit this week's offensive player of the series to just one.  Tim Becker went four-for-seven reaching base six times scoring four times, driving in five runs, and hitting the Noles first homerun of the year.

Pitchers of the Series:  Chase Doczi & ET Maldonado

Doczi came up huge in Game 2 for the Seminoles, picking up a win after coming in to throw five innings of relief.  Chase was the model of efficiency, posting a sub-one WHIP and throwing just over ten pitches per inning.  Maldonado made his debut on the mound for the Seminoles Club Baseball squad in Game 2 and picked up the save while striking out two.  With arms running low, the team again turned to ET to pitch in Game 3 where he threw two innings of shutout baseball.