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Rhett Aplin thriving early on for FSU baseball

Randy Lefko with Alfy Flores, Assistant Sports Editor, FSUnews.com
Posted 3/22/17

TALLAHASSEE - It was only a matter of the season starting before Rhett Aplin, a Fleming Island High graduate, began to make a significant impact on the Florida State baseball team.

Off to a hot …

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Rhett Aplin thriving early on for FSU baseball


Posted

TALLAHASSEE - It was only a matter of the season starting before Rhett Aplin, a Fleming Island High graduate, began to make a significant impact on the Florida State baseball team.

Off to a hot start at the plate, the junior outfielder is batting .429 with two homeruns and eight RBI’s through six games. He has also shown versatility in a stacked Seminoles lineup, playing as a designated hitter and subbing in as a pinch hitter.

Joining FSU with two years of junior college experience under his belt at Seminole State College of Florida, Aplin is one of those multi-dimensional athletes who has taken on several sports throughout the course of his career.

During his freshman year in high school, the Fleming Island High School gradaute embraced his innate passion for baseball and elected to dedicate his time entirely to the sport.

“I enjoyed every day playing it and I felt that for that specific sport,” Aplin explains.“I fell off on the other sports even though some of my family members continued to play, but I fell in love with [baseball].”

For the 6-foot-2, 220 pounder, electing to attend Florida State was a decision he made with great ease. Considering the impressive state-of-the-art facilities provided to Seminoles’ student athletes along with the unique pride attached to playing in the garnet and gold jersey under FSU head coach Mike Martin, Aplin concluded that moving to Tallahassee would allow him to heighten his baseball career.

“Everything they provide for us here during workouts and training allows us to get bigger, faster and stronger,” Aplin says. “This is completely beyond what I ever had at junior college.”

In the ’Noles' first six games of the season, this 21-year-old has been no stranger to the batter’s box while coming up to the plate during every game thus far. With this in mind, it’s a well known fact that Aplin has made his presence felt quite substantially for Florida State’s offense.

During the Seminoles home opener against VCU, Aplin fell short of a hit in his first two at-bats of the season. The following afternoon, the junior bounced back in stride while registered his first hit at FSU with a colossal two-run homer over the right field fence.

In his next two games, the former Raider collected one hit and tacked on his third and fourth RBI’s on the year before putting forth a dazzling performance during the ’Noles series opener against Samford.

Rhett Aplin is batting .429 and is tied for the most

Against Samford, Aplin exploded in the batter’s box while going 4-for-5 with four runs and four RBI’s. He also tallied his second homer of the season with a two-run shot in the fourth, leaving him a triple shy of Florida State’s first cycle since 2010.

“It’s interesting when you get a new guy and don’t really know how or where he played before, senior first baseman Quincy Nieporte assesses. “Rhett has really surprised us and it’s fun to watch these young guys go off and excel.”

As a newcomer on this highly touted squad, it won’t be long until this junior college transfer becomes a household name for Seminoles fans. Currently among the team leaders in homeruns (2) and tied for second in hits (6), Aplin is cruising en route for an extraordinary first season at the Division 1 level.

“Rhett is still a work in progress and has got a lot to learn about the way we play the game, FSU head coach Mike Martin concludes. “But there is no doubt that he has been a welcomed addition and lift to the offense.”

In a March 14 game against rival Florida, fifth-ranked in the NCAA with FSU top-ranked before the game, two baseball names familiar in Clay County; Fleming Island High grad Rhett Aplin and Trinity Christian grad J.C. Flowers, a former Oakleaf High Schooler, both were mentioned with significant plays in a game between the number one ranked Florida State University Seminoles (13-4) and the fifth-ranked Florida Gators (13-5) on March 14 in Gainesville.

With both teams throwing their top pitchers; Andrew Karp for FSU and A. Baker for Florida, the final score of 1-0 with just six hits for Florida and four for the Seminoles did not highlight the amount of defensive gamesmanship on the field.

On the very first play of the game a foul ball hit by Florida's Blake Reese was tracked down and caught by Aplin in a full-out diving play that set up the intensity of the rivalry. Aplin had been in left field for the first time of the season and stamped out his abilities to hustle and make the tough catch.

At the plate, Aplin was 0-4 with three grounders and a strikeout.

In the fifth inning against Florida, Flowers who played on state championship teams for Trinity after transferring from Oakleaf, put down a perfect bunt for a hit to put himself and teammate Nick Derr on base. The bunt put FSU in scoring position, but batter Matt Henderson hit a fly ball that ended the threat. Flowers' bunt was his second in the season with the Seminoles being successful on nine for the season.

In the seventh inning, Florida scored off a blooper into left field to win the game 1-0. Florida State was last shutout in 1994.

Aplin's season stats include a .302 batting average with 14 starts in 17 games. He has 16 hits in 53 at bats with 14 runs scored plus 11 runs batted in.

Aplin's best game was a four hits, four RBIs effort including a homer against Samford on February 24. Aplin's first homer was in his second game against Virginia Commonwealth on February 18. Flowers had a homer in the same game.

Flowers, just a freshman, has a .286 batting average with 14 hits in 49 at bats with 17 starts in 17 games. Flowers also has two homers with a double and a triple with 14 RBIs.

Both Aplin and Flowers hold perfect fielding percentages in their respective outfield positions.