Maryland
Florida State
Terps Baseball Falls Short against FSU
6/21/1999 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 19, 1999
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Jon McDonald allowed four hits over eight innings and Marshall McDougall victimized Maryland with yet another long ball as top-seeded Florida State defeated the Terrapins 4-1 in the ACC baseball tournament Wednesday.
The regular-season champion Seminoles (47-10) won their ninth straight and head to the winner's bracket Thursday against Georgia Tech, a 15-4 winner earlier against North Carolina.
We have always tried to preach pitching, defense and base running and I thought that was the success that we had today,'' said Florida State coach Mike Martin.
The Terrapins (22-32-1) fell into the loser's bracket of the double elimination tourney and will play the Tar Heels.
McDougall, who set NCAA records with six homers, 16 RBIs and 25 total bases against Maryland on May 9, homered again just inside the right field foul pole in the bottom of the third inning to give the Seminoles a 2-1 lead.
It was McDougall's ACC-leading 24th homer of the season and 90th RBI.
Maryland coach Tom Bradley and pitcher Jared Vogt received a warning from home plate umpire Tony Thompson after Vogt hit McDougall with a pitch in the bottom of the eighth.
McDougall shrugged off the incident, saying he braced for the knockdown on his first at-bat.
I thought it would be a little earlier in the game,'' said McDougall. It was the only fastball I saw all day, and it started out behind me, so I got a feeling they were throwing at me.''
Bradley said he didn't tell Vogt to throw at the slugger.
I would never tell anybody to do such a thing as that,'' said Bradley. Maryland baseball has a lot more class than to ever try to hurt somebody. You're messing with somebody's career when that happens. I think the pitch just got away. It was a few feet behind him.''
The Seminoles, who average 9.2 runs a game, struggled offensively against the No. 8 seeded Terrapins, stranding 10 runners through six innings while clinging to a 3-1 lead.
John-Ford Griffin's RBI single in the seventh gave Florida State some more breathing room and then McDonald (9-2) and reliever Mike DiBlasi closed the door over the final two innings, DiBlasi striking out two in the ninth to earn his ACC-leading ninth save.
Jon was in total control of the ball game,'' Martin said of his starting pitcher who fanned five and walked three.
The Seminoles improved to 27-3 all-time against Maryland.
By DAVID DROSCHAK, AP Sports Writer
Atlantic Coast Conference 1ST Round
Maryland 000 010 000-1 4 1 Florida St.011 010 10x-4 9 1Hart, Weaver (5), Vogt (6) and McDonald. McDonald, DiBlasi (9) and Klosterman. W-McDonald (9-2). L-Hart (3-7). Sv-DiBlasi (8). HRs-Florida St., McDougall (24).
ACC Baseball Tournament - Game Three Quotes
Florida State Head Coach Mike Martin
"We have always tried to preach pitching, defense, and baserunning. That was the success we had today. Jon (McDonald) pitched extremely well. We ran all the bases, put a little pressure on people. We made one mistake on the bases that could have gone a long way in hurting us when we were thrown out at second on a base hit. But Jon was in total control of the ball game. There were a number of things that happened that were key, but I thought the play that (SS Brett) Groves made up the middle when it was second and third...and he made that outstanding play up the middle. They scored one run out of it, but it was a big out. I thought that was a big boost for Jon."
"I've always been impressed with the way Tom (Bradley) prepares his team. He does a great job of motivating his guys. Let's face it, the last time we played this guy (McDougall) obviously had some success. It was one of those 26-2 deals. He's got a 3-1 ball game in the seventh inning, so he has every opportunity to win it. You have to credit Maryland. They, so to speak, wouldn't go away. They kept battling."
Maryland Head Coach Tom Bradley
"I thought it was a very competitive game. You're never happy when you lose, but I thought we played well. Throughout the game we had chances, we kept it close, we battled hard. We had a good showing against a very tough team. When we brought in our right handed pitchers it showed Florida State's versatility and depth. They were able to switch over to left handed hitters. They can beat you in a lot of different ways."
"After winning that game last night I thought we came out and played a very good ball game against a very good team."
"I would never tell anybody to do such a thing as that (throwing at a hitter). Maryland baseball has a lot more class than to instruct anybody to hurt anybody. That pitch just got away from Jaret (Vogt). He certainly wasn't trying to hit him."
