May 4, 2001
Box Score
COLLEGE PARK, Md.- The Maryland baseball team got a strong pitching performance from sophomore right-hander Todd Ainsworth (Hershey, Pa.) but it was not enough as No. 16 Florida State downed the Terps, 8-1, in the series opener Friday night at Shipley Field. The Seminoles got a masterful performance from starter Blair Varnes as he tossed six innings and allowed just one run to improve to 7-1.
Ainsworth kept the Terps in it as he tossed a career-high 7.2 innings. The Pennsylvania product fanned four and allowed just three runs through seven innings before giving up three in the eighth.
FSU jumped out of the gates quickly with two runs in the first on four hits. First baseman Ryan Barthelemy drove in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly to left to score Scott Toole. Toole led off the game with one of his four hits on the night. A RBI single by designated hitter Mike Futrell scored the second run of the frame to put Florida State up 2-0.
Junior designated hitter Kevin McDonald (Rockaway, N.J.) got the home crowd on its feet in the second with a solo home run off the scoreboard in left field to cut the FSU lead to 2-1. The long ball was the eighth this season for McDonald and he now leads the Terrapins in homers.
The Seminoles added a run in the fifth to stretch the lead to 3-1. Futrell knocked in his second RBI with a triple to right to plate Barthelemy.
Ainsworth continued to pitch well until the eighth when he ran out of gas. The Seminoles scored three in the inning, as Ainsworth did not help himself as he committed two errors and had two wild pitches. FSU reliever Daniel Hodges made that 6-1 lead stand up with three shutout innings in relief of Varnes to pick up the save.
FSU pushed across another two runs in the ninth to close the scoring out at 8-1. After two strikeouts by Maryland reliever Mark Martin (Manassas, Va.), the `Noles got RBI hits from Jeff Probst and Bryan Zech.
The win improves the Seminoles to 36-14 and 16-3 in the ACC while Maryland falls to 15-32 and 4-17 in the conference.
The two teams will continue the series tomorrow with game two of the three-game set. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.
