TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) — Offensive efficiency led No. 11 Florida State (3-0) to a 10-4 win over James Madison (0-3) for the series sweep Sunday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium. Reese Albert, a fifth-year senior from Jupiter, Florida, went 3-for-3 on Sunday to improve to .778 on the season. FSU’s leadoff hitter is 7-for-7 with an HBP in his last eight plate appearances.
Logan Lacey broke the game open with a three-run home run in the fourth inning, pushing FSU’s lead to 8-1. Alex Toral was 2-for-4 with an RBI double in the first inning and a two-run go-ahead double in the third inning, and Brett Roberts added a pair of hits and FSU’s final two runs on a single in the seventh inning.
Sophomore Ross Dunn earned his second career start on the mound and pitched 2.1 innings with three strikeouts. Jackson Nezuh (1-0) entered in relief in the third for 1.2 innings, working out of a bases loaded jam with just one sacrifice fly allowed that tied the game in the third inning.
Andrew Armstrong and David Barrett followed Nezuh with 1.0 scoreless innings a piece. Brandon Walker allowed a run in two-thirds of an inning and Jonah Scolaro surrendered a pair in the eighth inning before Wyatt Crowell struck out a batter in the ninth to close the game.
Toral’s double in the first inning came on the ninth pitch of the at-bat to score Albert and get FSU on the board. Toral hit .455 in his first weekend as a Seminole with a grand slam, three doubles and a team-high nine RBI.
Seven Seminoles had a hit in all three games of the series against James Madison, including freshmen James Tibbs and Jaime Ferrer. Albert led FSU with seven hits, followed by Jackson Greene, Toral and Lacey with five, Roberts with four and Tibbs and Ferrer with three each. As a team, FSU hit .374 (37-for-99) against the Dukes.
SCORING SUMMARY:
B1 | FSU 1, JMU 0 Toral doubled to center field, scoring Albert
T3 | FSU 1, JMU 1 Novak flied out to center field, scoring Zona
B3 | FSU 3, JMU 1 Toral doubled to left center, scoring Lacey and Albert
B3 | FSU 4, JMU 1 Tibbs doubled down the right field line, scoring Toral
B3 | FSU 5, JMU 1 Vincent grounded out, scoring Roberts
B4 | FSU 8, JMU 1 Lacey homered to right center, scoring Albert and Greene
T7 | FSU 8, JMU 2 Dooley doubled to right center, scoring Dunaway
B7 | FSU 10, JMU 2 Roberts singled to right center, scoring Perry and Greene
T8 | FSU 10, JMU 3 Novak grounded out to first, scoring DeLauter
T8 | FSU 10, JMU 4 Dunaway flied out to center field, scoring Trimble
UP NEXT:
Florida State travels to face Jacksonville on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before returning home for a three-game series against Samford on February 25-27.
OF NOTE:
- Transfer David Barrett made his first appearance for the Seminoles. He allowed a hit and struck out two in 1.0 inning pitched.
- This weekend was FSU’s first games against James Madison. The Seminoles outscored the Dukes 27-7 for FSU’s first season-opening sweep since 2019.
