Seminoles Bash Record Books And Buckeyes
Posted May. 31, 2009 8:40 pm by Brian Chmielewski
Filed under: At The Ballpark, Division I Postseason
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Two football powers met on a baseball field. The result was a football score, with Florida State beating Ohio State 37-6 to win the Tallahassee Regional.
Florida State did not want to take any chances with an Ohio State team that had already eliminated both Marist and Georgia from the NCAA tournament. The Seminoles scored 32 unanswered to open the game, leading 32-0 after 4 1/2 innings.
Florida State righthander Mike Mcgee (6-2) got the win after being spotted the 32-run lead. "I never thought I would see anything like this," McGee said. "Let alone ever be a part of anything like it."
The Seminoles set NCAA tournament records for hits (38), total bases (66), and runs scored (37). They set an NCAA record for doubles (15) in any game, postseason or otherwise. Florida State set several school records on the day, most of them by the third inning. The most notable school records were runs, hits, and total bases.
"I have been involved in baseball for 35 years, and I have never seen anything like this," Florida State coach Mike Martin said. "I am going to enjoy it for a couple days and then get ready for what’s next."
The ‘Noles were paced by Tallahassee Regional Most Outstanding Player Jason Stidham (4-for-5, 3 2B), who drove in four, giving him a total of 12 RBIs in the regional. Shortstop Stephen Cardullo (7-for-9, 5 RBI) added seven hits in the game, an NCAA postseason record for hits by an individual player. "I knew I had seven hits, I did not know it was a record, and I am pretty proud of it," Cardullo said.
"We all know what happened," Ohio State coach Bob Todd said. "Everything they did was right and there is just nothing you can say."
Ohio State began the season in Florida and ended the season in Florida. In all, the Buckeyes played 25 times in the state of Florida this season, compared to just 21 games at home in Columbus.
The Seminoles will await the winner of the Norman Regional between Arkansas and Oklahoma. If Arkansas wins that regional Florida State would likely host the school’s seventh super regional. Either way the Seminoles will go to their ninth super regional in eleven years.
"We will be ready to play whomever we play, wherever we play them," Martin said. "We will continue to work hard and prepare, that is what makes this team special."
Baseball America
