Clemson vs Florida State Baseball Recap

Clemson 8, (7) Florida State 4

The ACC Atlantic Division-leading Florida State Seminoles (39-15, 18-11 ACC) entered the final series of the regular season against the second-place Clemson Tigers (36-19, 17-12 ACC) with the division title on the line.  Both squads’ spots in the ACC Tournament are secure, but with tonight’s win, the Tigers set up a division title-deciding game on Saturday.  A win in the final regular season game of the year would cap a three-games-back-with-three-games-to-play comeback for Clemson. Florida State must win on Saturday to avoid a collapse in a season in which they looked as if they would run away with the division championship.
 
The story of the game was Clemson’s pitching, which held FSU to four runs on only five hits.  The normally explosive Seminole bats were dormant for most of the game, while the Tigers posted a six-run third inning to give starting pitcher Scott Weismann - who entered the game with a 5-2 record - all the run support he would need.
 
Florida State starting pitcher Brian Busch, who entered the game with a 4-0 record, got roughed up for six runs on six hits in the third inning after giving up only a Riche Shaffer single in the first two innings.  Busch walked the first batter in the third and after a Brad Miller single, struck out the third batter of the inning.  That strikeout would be Busch’s last out of the game, as he proceeded to allow the next several Clemson hitters to reach safely. Busch wound up surviving only two and a third innings.  Relief pitcher Hunter Scantling came into the game with two men on base and promptly retired his first two batters to spare Busch two more runs. Busch was charged with six earned runs on six hits and three walks. 

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Scantling held the Tigers scoreless in the fourth inning, but gave up a two-run homer to Wilson Boyd in the fifth inning, which gave Clemson its seventh and eighth runs of the night and sent Scantling to the showers. A trio of Seminole relief pitchers held Clemson scoreless for the final three innings, but the ‘Noles' offense never threatened to overtake the Tigers' run production from the third inning onward.
 
Clemson and Florida State will play Saturday in Clemson, South Carolina, to decide the ACC’s Atlantic Division title.  A Florida State win will ensure the Seminoles a spot all alone atop the division.  A Clemson win means that the Seminoles and the Tigers would share the division title.  The ACC Atlantic’s two top teams will tangle at 1 p.m. Eastern.

By: John Cary
DFN Sports Guest Writer