D.J. Stewart cranked a grand slam and two-run homer as part of FSU's offensive outpouring.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- No. 12 Florida State (19-6, 7-2) powered past No. 9 Virginia (14-7, 3-6) on Sunday afternoon as the Seminoles took the rubber game of the series with a 13-1 victory on the road.
Dylan Busby and DJ Stewart sparked the Florida State offense with home runs for the second consecutive game.
Stewart left the yard twice on Sunday for his third multi-home run game of his career. The junior left fielder connected on a grand slam in the seventh and a two-run home run in the ninth. Busby got things started in a nice way after unloading on a three-run shot to left center in the first.
The win marked the first series victory for the Seminoles in Charlottesville since 2004 when FSU dropped the first game of the series only to win the next two.
“It was just one of those weekends that things went our way,” Florida State head coach Mike Martin said. “But we know how good Virginia is. This was a good series win this weekend.”
Quincy Nieporte and Stewart finished with three hits apiece, while Stewart tallied six RBIs to tie a career high. Busby finished with three RBIs and Nieporte drove in a pair.
FSU starter Cobi Johnson (3-1) recorded his best outing of his young career as the freshman righthander tossed a career-high 7.0 innings, allowing a run on five hits as he walked two and struck out five.
“That was his best outing of the year,” said Martin on Johnson’s performance. “Coach Bell did a great job of mixing pitches. Cobi was impressive with all three pitches today. That’s something we have been waiting to see and I have to admit he couldn’t have picked a better day to it. His mound presence was beyond his years this afternoon.”
“I felt decent -- fastball, changeup mix, just tried to change speeds and location to keep them off-balanced,” added Johnson.
Taylor Folsom threw the final two innings to close out the win and the series victory. The freshman lefty gave up two hits and a walk while striking out two.
