Thomas Leads No. 1 Florida State To 15-3 Win Over Duke

Friday, March 30

Durham, N.C.

7:00 PM

Duke University

Florida State

Thompson?s Complete Game Shutout Leads No. 3 Virginia Past Duke

Thomas Leads No. 1 Florida State To 15-3 Win Over Duke

3/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Florida State second baseman Tony Thomas Jr. hit a pair of home runs, including a leadoff homer on the second pitch of the game, to lead the top-ranked Seminoles to a 15-3 win over Duke on Friday night at Jack Coombs Field. The Blue Devils fall to 19-10 on the season and 1-9 in the ACC while the Seminoles improve to 28-1 and 7-0, respectively.

Thomas turned on the second pitch he saw and sent a solo leadoff shot over the left field wall to start the game. Shortstop Mark Hallberg followed with a single to right before stealing second and advancing to third on a groundout. Left fielder Dennis Guinn capped the frame with an RBI-single through the left side to give the Seminoles a 2-0 lead.

Florida State added five unearned runs in the top of the second to extend their lead to 7-0. After first baseman Brandon Reichert reached on a two-out error, Thomas hit his second home run of the game, a two-run bomb to left. Back-to-back singles by Hallberg and catcher Buster Posey gave the Seminoles runners on the corners before right fielder Jack Rye drove a 1-1 offering to right center for a three-run homer.

Duke scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to make it a 7-2 ballgame. Left fielder Tim Sherlock drilled the first pitch he saw into the gap in left center for a two-out triple. Shortstop Gabriel Saade then sent a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall for a two-run jack. It was the fourth home run of the year for Saade.

A two-run third gave the Seminoles a 9-2 advantage. Center fielder D'Vontrey Richardson scored on a fielder's choice before Posey lined an RBI-double to left to score Hallberg. Florida State then added three unearned runs in the top of the sixth to extend their lead to 12-2.

Pinch hitter Tommy Oravetz had an RBI-double and Reichert added a two-run single in the top of the seventh to give the Seminoles a 15-2 advantage.

The Blue Devils scored again in the bottom of the seventh to account for the final margin. Sherlock doubled to right field to start the frame. Three batters later, designated hitter Alexander Hassan laced an RBI-single to center to score Sherlock.

Florida State starter Bryan Henry improved to 7-0 on the season, holding the Blue Devils to two runs on six hits in six innings of work.

Hassan (2-1) suffered his first loss of the year, allowing nine runs - six of which were unearned - on 10 hits in 2.2 innings pitched. Sophomore Kyle Butler threw three innings of relief, limiting the Seminoles to four hits and three unearned runs. Freshman Jeremy Gould pitched a scoreless eighth and junior Ryan Perry worked a scoreless ninth for the Blue Devils. Duke's five errors allowed nine unearned runs to cross the plate.

Sherlock led the Blue Devils at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a triple, a double and two runs scored. Hassan went 2-for-5 with an RBI, Freiman finished 2-for-4 and Saade was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer.

Game two of the series will be tomorrow at 2 p.m. Duke and Florida State will then wrap up the series on Sunday at noon. Senior right-hander Tony Bajoczky (4-2, 2.27 ERA) will battle Florida State right-hander Michael Hyde (8-0, 1.74 ERA) on Saturday.

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