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Posey Hits 4 Homers, Powers Noles To 2 Wins

Tribune photo by COLIN HACKLEY

Buster Posey, right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a three-run homer in the fifth inning against Tulane in the NCAA Regional action Sunday at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee.

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By SCOTT CARTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 2, 2008

TALLAHASSEE – There's a reason Florida State catcher Buster Posey was named national player of the year and is a candidate to be taken by the Tampa Bay Rays with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft: the soft-spoken Georgian often has big days at the ballpark.

Sunday will be remembered as one of Posey's most memorable ever, and certainly as one of the most clutch performances in FSU history.

"You hear people say you're in the zone," Posey said. "I just felt really, really comfortable, and I felt if I got a good pitch to hit, I was going to hit it hard. There wasn't a lot of thinking going on up there. It was just, 'see the ball, hit the ball.' "

Facing elimination not once but twice in the Tallahassee Regional, the Seminoles relied on Posey and their potent lineup to advance to tonight's regional title game and a rematch with Tulane. FSU (51-11) knocked off the Green Wave 17-8 Sunday night, advancing to play at least one more game as the Noles attempt to qualify for the College World Series for the first time in eight years.

On their latest step toward that goal, Posey delivered in a big way, going a combined 5-for-8 with four home runs and 10 RBIs in FSU's two Sunday victories.

In the afternoon, Posey hit a pair of home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in a season-high five runs in a 24-9 victory over Bucknell, the team that dropped FSU into the losers' bracket with a stunning victory in Friday's first round.

After a three-hour break, Posey hit his 23rd and 24th homers of the season in Sunday night's win over Tulane (39-21), the second a three-run blast in the fifth inning that gave FSU a 10-6 lead. Posey drove in another five runs against Tulane after not driving in more than four in a game all season.

In four tournament games, Posey is 8-for-15 with five homers and 12 RBIs.

"Of course, Buster's big hits were huge," FSU coach Mike Martin said. "We just played a game that we needed to play. When you play against the teams that we're playing against now, you just don't expect to score runs like that."

Posey's first home run against Tulane, a solo shot off starter Jonathan Garrett in the fourth inning, gave FSU a 5-4 lead immediately after the Green Wave scored four runs in the top of the inning off former Bloomingdale High standout Ryan Strauss.

Strauss started strong, retiring the first seven batters he faced and holding Tulane scoreless through three innings. However, after Dennis Guinn's solo homer to lead off the fourth gave the Noles a 4-0 lead, Strauss encountered control problems in the fourth.

He walked three in the inning, and all came around to score. Tulane's Jared Dyer delivered the key hit, a three-run homer to make it 4-3. Tulane tied the game on Warren McFadden's double later in the inning, but Posey's bat spoke loudly the next inning to give FSU the lead for good.

"Offensively, Florida State just kept coming after us," Tulane coach Rick Jones said. "We didn't have as many answers for them as we'd like to. [Posey] is a guy that tonight we couldn't get an opportunity to really pitch around. Had we been able to, we would have done that."

Since being shut out on Friday night by Bucknell's Mathew Wilson, FSU has scored 58 runs and recorded 64 hits in wins over Florida, Bucknell and Tulane.

Jones is expected to use No. 1 starter Shooter Hunt in tonight's game. Hunt started Friday's victory over Florida. Martin said left-hander Matt Fairel, who lasted only three innings in Saturday's 17-11 win over Florida, will start for FSU.

Reporter Scott Carter can be reached at (850) 294-3088 or scarter@tampatrib.com.

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