Click Here to view this Link.

Click Here to view this Link.

Click Here to view this Link.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- John Sansone had run to first base plenty of times when he came to bat in the seventh inning Tuesday night against Florida. By that point, he was ready to take his time.

Sansone, already 4-for-4 at that point, took a walk in his final plate appearance to extend a Florida State rally that sealed the Seminoles' 8-3 win over Florida at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. His Tuesday night included a career-high four hits, a double, an RBI and two runs scored.

"I'm never satisfied," Sansone said. "At 4-for-4, I was trying to get 5-for-5. I was kind of hoping [the umpire] would call a strike so I could keep hitting."

FSU (23-7) built its lead slowly, scoring one run in each the second, third and fourth innings to reach the Florida bullpen. That's where the real damage came, as FSU scored two more runs in the fifth before putting up three runs in the seventh.

"The game is not coming at him so fast," FSU head coach Mike Martin said of Sansone. "He's seeing the ball longer and got a couple of knocks here, a couple of knocks there, and all of a sudden he feels like, 'Oh, yeah, that's what I need to do.'"

The Seminoles were cruising by then. The announced crowd of 8,306, evenly split between the two fan bases, started to file out as the Gator offense struggled and the bullpen bounced between four pitchers in FSU's final three turns at the plate.

Starting pitcher Bryant Holtmann, making a spot start with Alec Byrd resting after Sunday's appearance, had his best game of the season. He pitched five innings and allowed just one run -- a homer from Florida's Josh Tobias in the fourth inning -- to give his offense time to go to work. He had three strikeouts and didn't allow a walk. Other than Tobias' homer, he only allowed two Gators to reach second base.

"It's awesome," Holtmann said. "I haven't been pitching very well and I just needed this really for a confidence boost."

He left the game with two runners on base and no outs in the top of the sixth, but reliever Dylan Silva stifled the Gators (23-7) before they could do any more damage. Silva also had one of his best outings of the season, throwing the final four innings and giving up just one hit. He didn't allow a runner to reach scoring position until the ninth inning. It was also his longest outing of the season.

"Dylan really picked us up, but Holtmann, that was the key," Martin said. "Holtmann was the key. To pitch like he did, turn it over to Dylan, he was excellent. One of his better outings as a Seminole."

The win evened up FSU's season series with Florida. The Seminoles lost the opener in Gainesville, 14-8, on March 17 in one of the messiest games of the season. FSU had five errors in that game and used five relievers after Byrd lasted just 1.1 innings.

Tuesday's win gives the 'Noles a chance to take the series on their own terms, and on their home field. The finale between the two teams is in Tallahassee on April 14.

Sansone went into their first meeting still struggling to find his swing, hacking through a slow start to the season. He left Tuesday's game batting almost .300.

Sansone, Silva and Holtmann were actually all working through problems when FSU traveled to Gainesville. Silva gave up two runs in that game, and Holtmann had recently lost his spot as the Seminoles' midweek starter. All three played one of their best games of the season this time around.

"The veterans on this team pick each other up," Sansone said. "If someone's not doing too great, they're in a slump, they're not pitching great, you tell them, 'Keep going, we've got your back,' and we go from there."