‘DUNN’ AND DONE F S U’s J e nni f e r D unn na m e d A C C S cho l a r- A t hl e t e o f t he Ye a r PAGE 13 FSView & Florida Flambeau
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’Noles take first two from Wolfpack FSU takes first two of three from NC State after a rain-delayed Saturday SCOTT CRUMBLY Assistant Sports Editor The Florida State baseball team inched closer to their fifth division title in the past six years this weekend by taking the first two out of three games from the North Carolina State Wolfpack in a rainy affair in Raleigh, N.C. Friday night went smoothly—as usual— behind yet another strong effort from the Seminoles’ staff ace, Sean Gilmartin. The junior from California put in 7.1 innings of work in game one, allowing just five hits while striking out nine en route to a 9-4 victory for FSU (39-13, 18-8 Atlantic Coast Conference). Although Gilmartin was on the mound for all four of the Wolfpack’s (28-23, 11-15 ACC) runs, none of the four were earned. Florida State’s defense committed four uncharacteristic errors that led to every N.C. State run on the evening. “[Gilmartin] was a warrior,” ’Noles skipper Mike Martin said following the victory. “There’s no two ways about it. We did not
play well behind him, but he kept his poise and kept getting us in the dugout. We never back up from a win, but that was ugly.” With the win, Gilmartin improved to 9-1 on the season and has not allowed an earned run in his last 15 innings on the mound. Rafael Lopez gave Gilmartin all the run support he needed, blasting two home runs on the game— a leadoff homer in the first followed by a two-run shot in the third—to power the ’Noles offense. The two deep balls were No. 5 and 6 on the year for the senior catcher. Lopez accounted for three of the Seminoles’ 11 hits on the evening, while Mike McGee and Justin Gonzalez contributed two hits apiece. Andrew Ciencin and Chris Diaz each had two hits of their own for the Wolfpack. Saturday’s game was set to begin at 6 p.m., but inclement weather in the area forced officials to postpone the contest, setting up a double-header on Sunday to round out the series. Saturday starter Hunter
Phil Sears/Democrat
Florida State ace, Sean Gilmartin struck out nine Wolfpack batters in just over seven innings of work on Friday night. The Seminoles had to play the final two games of the three-game set on Sunday afternoon due to incliment weather on Saturday. Check back with fsunews.com for results from Sunday’s double-header. Scantling was slated to pitch for the ’Noles as he usually does in game two of a weekend series, but Mike McGee was inserted for Scantling in Sunday’s
first game while Scantling was moved back to throw in game two. Both teams took advantage of opponent errors to get on the board in the
early going Sunday. After singling to right field in the second inning, Jayce Boyd used an N.C. State throwing error to steal home and record the
game’s first run. Boyd returned the favor in the fourth when he committed a throwing error in SEE TAKE TWO 12
Third time’s the charm for Seminole softball Behind Hamilton, Florida State wins their 11th overall ACC Championship AL BUZZELLI Sports Editor With a season- and possibly even career-defining game at stake, Florida
State head coach Lonnie Alameda sent senior Sarah Hamilton to the circle and she came out a winner—in more ways than one. Hamilton, the local prod-
uct of Chiles High School, delivered Alameda and the rest of the ninth-seeded Seminoles their 11th overall ACC Championship Sunday afternoon from At-
championship honors since 2004. Florida State (30-26) came into their conference championship not the hottest of teams, while UNC starter, Lori Spingola, was aiming to set a Tar Heelrecord for most victories in a season (28). Losers of five of their past seven overall, FSU illustrated they had put their hard times this season behind them by putting on a hitting barrage throughout the championship set led by senior Jen Lapicki and freshman Courtney Senas. “One of our goals of the season, as with every season, was to win another ACC Championship,” Alameda said. Hamilton, who came into Sunday’s showdown with the Tar Heels (34-21) with just an 18-17 record overall this season, threw a threehitter, which improved her career record to 69-35. The Seminoles got on the board first on Championship Sunday when Robin Ahrberg hit a solo shot to give the ’Noles an early 1-0 lead. Senas followed two batters later and drove in Morgan Bullock on a RBI
double. Behind Ahrberg’s blast and Senas double, Hamilton was in control from start to finish, allowing just one Tar Heel to cross the plate, which came in the top half of the seventh inning when Brittany Williams doubled home Paige Williams. But after regaining her composure, Hamilton settled down and struck out the final two UNC batters before being mobbed by her teammates afterward. Florida State reached the conference finale when tournament play opened up Thursday by first outslugging fifth-seeded Virginia Tech, 9-2, and then keeping that same theme by waxing eighth-seeded Virginia, 12-5. Long-distance home runs by Celeste Gomez, Senas and Lapicki highlighted the 12-hit attack as it defeated the Cavaliers in the semifinals, which moved FSU into the Championship game for the third consecutive year. FSU’s hitting barrage propelled 10 unanswered runs between the third and
SPORTSBRIEFS
him to return. Brandon disputed Forcier’s version of events. When he agreed to attend Miami, Forcier was expected to compete for the starting job in 2012 with rising sophomore Stephen Morris, who spent this spring challenging incumbent Jacory Harris. The Hurricanes recently signed Memphis transfer Ryan Williams. What is next for Forcier is uncertain. He considered Washington, Arizona, Kansas State and other schools as destinations last winter. A transfer to a Bowl Subdivision school, however, would require him to sit out next season. He could play im-
lanta, Ga., with a 4-1 victory over second-seeded North Carolina. The Championship victory marked the first time the ’Noles have garnered
Caitlyn Haines/FSView
Sarah Hamilton (above) came through on Sunday with one of her gutsiest performances as a Seminole, pushing them to their 11th ACC Championship.
Closing arguments With his reputation hanging in the balance after last summer’s ‘Decision,’ LeBron James has taken his talents to the Eastern Conference Finals JOSH DOLCHIN Staff Writer Before the initial tip-off of the second round series between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat— an expected heavyweight bout, given the potential to be one of the greatest second-round series since Reggie Miller’s Indiana Pacers squared off
against the New York Knicks—this primetime series boasted six future first-ballot Hall of Fame inductees, two blueprints for super rosters and a resulting rivalry founded on hatred, pride, legacy and even mothers. The matchup was expected to go the distance, complete with hard fouls, heroics and epic high-
lights that would keep us all saying “Did you see that?” not unlike to seeing Avatar in 3D for the first time. NBA Commissioner David Stern was smitten, as was the Heat’s nation of skeptics. All the scrutiny and drama surrounding the Miami Heat and LeBron James’ SEE ARGUMENTS 13
ACC
Michigan’s Forcier not transferring to Miami after all Tate Forcier apparently has called a different kind of audible, this one pertaining to his plans of attending the University Miami. After announcing his plans to transfer to the school, the former Michigan quarterback has decided not to enroll, according to the Associated Press. The Miami Herald
cited an unnamed school official as confirming Forcier’s change of heart Friday. Forcier signed an aid agreement with the Hurricanes in February after his sophomore season at Michigan. He started 12 games as a freshman, but served as a backup to Denard Robinson in 2010 until being ruled academically ineligible to play in the Gator Bowl. His departure from Ann Arbor was testy as Forcier said after signing with Miami that he didn’t want to leave. But he felt that athletics director David Brandon would not allow
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