clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Florida State 7, Boston College 0: Compton Tosses Complete Game Shutout For Seminoles

Florida State starter throws second career complete game shutout as Eagles are kept off scoreboard for the first time since April 12, 2014

Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Florida State starting pitcher Mike Compton tossed a complete game, two-hit shutout as the host Seminoles won the series opener with the Boston College Eagles, 7-0, on Friday night. It was the league opener for both teams on the 2015 season, played before nearly 4,000 fans at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee.

It was a completely dominating performance for the redshirt junior, who allowed both of the BC hits in the third inning. He retired 13 in a row from the end of the third through to the start of the eighth and faced the minimum allowable batters over the rest of the game. BC's only base runner after two singles by Nick Sciortino and Blake Butera was when Jake Palomaki reached via an error in the bottom of the eighth. He was subsequently retired on a double play.

Compton (1-0) finished by facing three over the minimum—a walk and two hits. He induced 10 ground ball outs and nine fly outs, striking out seven. BC combined to go a total of 2-for-29 on the game, a team collective batting average of .068.

The Seminole offense, meanwhile, struck after that top of the third threat and didn't look back. Danny De La Calle doubled down the left field line and scored one batter later when Taylor Walls doubled him home. Walls moved up to third one batter later when Darren Miller hit a flyball to centerfielder Gabriel Hernandez that was dropped. DJ Stewart then grounded Walls home for the Noles' second run.

Jeff Burke responded in the fourth by striking out two and getting a 1-2-3 inning, but the Seminoles chased him in the fifth as part of a four run frame with two outs. Again De La Calle started the rally with a single to left, and he moved into scoring position when Burke walked Walls to put runners on first and second. Two batters later, with one out, Stewart grounded to first, but the runners both advanced a base to put two in scoring position.

Although it looked like Burke would get out of the inning, Mike Gambino went to the bullpen and made the first move to Jesse Adams. The lefty Adams walked cleanup hitter John Sansone, loading the bases. Mike Martin went to the bench himself after that, pinch hitting for Gage West with Quincy Nieporte. It paid off when Nieporte singled to left to score both De La Calle and Walls, putting FSU up 4-0. Adams moved both runners up a base on a wild pitch, and with two in scoring position, Dylan Busby doubled to right to score them both. Adams retired Josh Delph with a strike out to end the inning, but FSU's lead stretched to a dominating 6-0 advantage after all was set and done.

They added one more one inning later when Ben DeLuzio came home on a groundball to shortstop Johnny Adams. After doubling, DeLuzio advanced to third on a grounder back to the box. Off the grounder to Adams, the shortstop threw home to retire the runner with one out, but the runner beat the throw to set the final score at 7-0.

On the bump, Burke (0-3) absorbed the loss, charged with four runs (three earned) on three hits in 4.2 innings thrown. He struck out five and walked two, hitting one batter. Of the 21 batters faced, he induced grounders to just four. Adams, meanwhile, went the final 3.1 innings, charged with the remaining three runs (two in the fifth and the one in the sixth). Once he settled down, he dominated, striking out eight and walking two.

The Eagles loss dropped the team to 5-7 on the year, while the 19th-ranked Seminoles won for the seventh straight game to improve to 11-3. BC lost their league opener for the fifth straight season dating back to the 2010 schedule. That year, they defeated Miami to open up the year with a 3-0 victory. This year's senior class, which entered in 2012, becomes the second class to go their entire careers without a league opening day victory. Mike Gambino has never won a league opening day game, and the last time BC won their league opening game, they advanced to both the ACC Tournament and the ACC Championship Game (2010). BC dropped to 1-5 on the season in true road games (they remain 4-2 in neutral site games)

Florida State, meanwhile, won their league opening game for the first time in two years, having beaten BC during the 2013 season but having lost to Miami last year. They've won their first ACC game in four of the last five years, beating BC twice along that stretch. They remained undefeated at home in Tallahassee by improving to 10-0. Over their ten wins at home, FSU's outscored opponents at a 93-31 rate.

The two teams will take the field for their second of three games on Saturday night from Mike Martin Field at Howser Stadium. Game time is slated for 6 PM and can be seen on ESPN3.