Maryland
Florida State
Terps Fall 9-3 to No. 4 Seminoles in Series Opener
6/21/1999 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 7, 1999
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - No. 4 ranked Florida State used four pitchers and a three-run seventh inning to upend Maryland on Friday night, 9-3, and secure its second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference baseball title.
The Seminoles (41-10, 17-2 ACC) withstood an early upset bid by the Terrapins and starting pitcher Tom Curtiss. Curtiss (2-5) absorbed the Maryland loss despite 10 strikeouts through 6 2/3 innings. He allowed seven earned runs on eight hits, however, including a solo home run by Karl Jernigan to open the three-run seventh.
Jernigan's solo blast to center was his fifth home run of the season and opened a 5-3 FSU lead. Curtiss issued back-to-back walks to Marshall McDougal and Matt Diaz, however, and Kevin Cash was hit by reliever Jared Vogt's second pitch to load the bases. Vogt walked catcher Jeremiah Klosterman and pinch-hitter John-Ford Griffin was hit by pitch as McDougall and Diaz scored.
McDougal and Diaz each added RBI in the bottom of the eighth to provide FSU its final margin.
Until the seventh, however, Maryland battled toe-to-toe with the eventual ACC champions. Maryland spotted the Seminoles a three-run lead in the top of the third inning after a triple and pair of singles. But the Terps (21-24-1, 6-12) scrapped for single runs in the their own half of the third and fourth to close to 3-2, and the teams traded runs in the fifth.
In the Maryland third, Mike D'Archangelo singled, advanced to second on a groundout, and scored on FSU first baseman John Halliday's errant toss back to pitcher Jon McDonald, covering the bag at first. Designated hitter Craig Munroe lined a double to the left centerfield fence and scored on Chuck Easter's double to right. Later, Munroe was responsible for the Terps' run in the fifth when he singled up the middle to score left fielder Eric Beer.
FSU took a brief 4-2 lead in the top of the fifth when McDougall ripped a ground-rule double that one-hopped the fence in left field to score Brett Groves from second base. It was McDougall's 67th RBI as he maintained pace with ACC RBI leader and teammate Matt Diaz. McDougall went 3-for-4 on the night with two doubles, two runs and two RBI. Groves was 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs and a pair of stolen bases.
For the Terps, Beer and Munroe each batted 2-for-4 as Maryland reached McDonald for seven hits before his departure in the sixth. Three FSU pitchers combined for 3 1/3 no-hit innings to close the contest.
Maryland and FSU continue their three-game series with a 7 p.m. start on Saturday, and a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday. Each of the two remaining games of the series are to be televised on the Sunshine Network.
