History in the Making: Florida State Baseball Crushes Ohio State, 37-6

Michael McGuffee — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:34:33 +0000

Head coach Mike Martin has led the Florida State baseball program for a long, long time, but he’s never seen anything quite like the Seminoles’ most recent performance at Dick Howser Stadium.

But then again, no one has.

FSU thumped Ohio State 37-6 in the Tallahassee Regional finale and set a host of NCAA Division I records in the process.

Florida State’s 38 hits and 37 runs both broke single-game NCAA benchmarks, as did the Seminoles’ record 15 doubles.

“I have been blessed to be here 35 years, and I can honestly say I have never seen anything like that,” Martin said after the game.

“It was just a game that you look at our young men with what was at stake and you give them the credit because that's where it is most deserved.”

The Tribe posted eight, nine, and 11-run frames on its way to a 32-0 lead after just five innings.

Leading the way at the plate was Seminole shortstop Stephen Cardullo, who registered seven hits in nine at-bats, finishing just a home run shy of completing the cycle.

Cardullo was the only starter to play the whole game for the ’Noles, and only because Martin didn’t have another shortstop to take his place.

FSU first baseman Mike Meschke also had a pretty good outing, finishing 5-of-5 at the plate with five runs and four RBI, including a three-run homer.

The Buckeyes, who started the day with a 13-6 victory over Georgia, went through four pitchers in the first three innings and finished the game with five errors.

When asked what you say to a team after a game like that, Ohio State head coach Bob Todd said, “I don’t think you can tell them anything.”

Todd summarized the 31-run defeat by saying simply, “Everything that they did was right, and everything that we did was wrong.”

For the 4,144 fans in attendance who witnessed a little bit of college baseball history, Sunday’s scoreboard looked like it belonged on a football field.

“Get Terrelle Pryor on the phone,” one Seminole fan jeered at the Buckeyes toward the end of the game. “You guys need touchdowns...fast!”

MSBaseball.com » Michael McGuffee

History in the Making: Florida State Baseball Crushes Ohio State, 37-6