LOUISVILLE, KY – Matt Henderson’s two-run single in the fourth inning proved to be the game-winner as Florida State beat Louisville 6-2 Friday night to win Pool A and advance to Saturday’s 1 p.m. semifinal against No. 9 seed Duke.
But the story of the game was FSU starter Tyler Horton’s dominance on the mound in his eight innings of work. He struck out 10, walked only one, gave up one ER, and never faced more than five batters in an inning. Horton also held the heart of the Louisville order in check as its No. 3, 4 and 5 batters (Devin Hairston, Brendan McKay and Drew Ellis) only reached base twice – McKay’s solo home run (17) to lead off the 6th and his single in the 8th.
The Seminoles took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Taylor Walls led off the game with a walk, and Dylan Bosby hit an opposite-field double, advancing Walls to third. Kade McClure’s wild pitch allowed Walls to score and Bosby to move up to second. Then Quincy Nieporte – who torched the Cardinals last week at Jim Patterson Stadium – knocked in Bosby with a double.
The Cardinals got on the board in the bottom of the third when Josh Stowers knocked in Jake Snider on a grounder to third to cut the deficit to 2-1.
After McClure walked the lead-off batter again in the second, he struck out four of the next six batters, but he ran into more trouble in the fourth. Just like the first, McClure walked the leadoff batter and then gave up a double to the second batter. With runners on second and third, Henderson’s single to right field scored two runs to extend FSU’s lead to 4-1. McClure’s final line: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 BB, and 6 K.
Louisville’s biggest threat was taken away by JC Flowers’s diving catch in left-center field to end the fourth inning that held FSU’s 4-1 lead. Pat Rumoro hit a shot in the gap that hung in the air just long enough for Flowers to track it down; otherwise, Devin Mann and Ryan Summers would have scored easily.
FSU added to its lead in the top of the ninth when Jackson Lueck knocked in two more runs on a double. The Seminoles finished the season 3-0 against the Cardinals.
