June 17, 2012

CWS Game 5 Notes

Travis leads Seminoles past Seawolves

By Phil Stanton

CollegeBaseballInsider.com Co-Founder

@roadtoomaha

OMAHA, Neb. – The magical season came to an end.

Devon Travis (right) went 3 for 3 with a homer, three runs and three RBI as No. 3 Florida State defeated Stony Brook 12-2 Sunday in an elimination game in the 2012 College World Series in front of 22,112 fans at TD Ameritrade Park.

The Seminoles (49-16) will face the loser of the UCLA-Arizona contest on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT. The Seawolves finished their season at 52-15.

Travis reached all five times for FSU. He drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on a base hit by James Ramsey. Jayce Boyd struck out and Ramsey broke for second. As the throw went to second, Travis broke for home and scored before Ramsey was tagged out to give the Seminoles a 1-0 lead.

FSU added to its lead in the third. With two outs and no one on, Sherman Johnson singled and moved to third on a base hit by Travis. Ramsey doubled to right to drive in Johnson. A throwing error on the shortstop plated a pair to make it 4-0. Following a walk to Stephen McGee, Justin Gonzalez belted a homer into the bullpen in left to extend the advantage to seven. It was the ninth long ball on the season for Gonzalez.

“It certainly was a great lift for our team,” said FSU head coach Mike Martin. “We got them all with two outs, and that’s something that you just credit the young men for having great at-bats and getting it done.”

Travis added a two-run homer in the fourth to extend the lead to 9-0, ending the day for SBU starter Brandon McNitt (3.2 IP, 6 H, 9 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K). After Stony Brook put up two in the fifth, Johnson delivered a two-run double and scored on a two-bagger by Travis as the lead grew to 12-2.

“You can’t, against good teams, make the mistakes we made and expect to survive that,” said SBU head coach Matt Senk. “And that’s pretty much the bottom line.”

Mike Compton (12-2) earned the victory for the Seminoles, allowing six hits and two runs in six innings with two walks and four strikeouts.

“We had a number of key things that happened during the ballgame,” Martine said. “But certainly it all starts with the man on the mound, and Michael did an outstanding job.”

Pat Cantwell had a RBI groundout and William Carmona (2 for 4) added a run-scoring single in the fifth for the Seawolves.

(photo courtesy of FSU Media Relations Office)