Noles Outlast Yellow Jackets in ACC Opener

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On the strength of four two-run home runs, five-seed Florida State beat nine-seed Georgia Tech 12-9 Tuesday afternoon at Truist Field. The Seminoles (40-14) reached the 40-win mark for the first time since 2019 and improved to 3-1 against the Yellow Jackets over the past week. Georgia Tech is 31-22.

Freshman John Abraham improved to 4-1 with 2.0 relief innings. Jamie Arnold – FSU's first-team All-ACC starting pitcher – earned his first save of the year in his first relief outing, striking out the tying run to end the game.

Marco Dinges, Daniel Cantu, Drew Faurot and Jaime Ferrer hit home runs for the Seminoles as FSU ran out to an 8-1 lead in the fifth inning. After Georgia Tech cut into that lead with five runs in the seventh inning – on seven hits – FSU responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the eighth, including an RBI double from Faurot, his third extra-base hit of the game.

Faurot led FSU with three hits; Dinges, Cam Smith and Alex Lodise added a pair of hits. Smith was 2-for-4, bumping his season average to .402. He leads FSU with 19 doubles.

Conner Whittaker made his eighth start of the season, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings. Whittaker had not started since April 6.

SCORING SUMMARY:
B1 | GT 0, FSU 2                 Dinges home run (13^th, 448 ft), Tibbs scored
T3 | GT 1, FSU 2                 Burress home run
B4 | GT 1, FSU 4                 Cantu home run (7^th, 389 ft), Ferrer scored
B4 | GT 1, FSU 6                 Faurot home run (6^th, 391 ft), Lodise scored
B5 | GT 1, FSU 8                 Ferrer home run (16^th, 413 ft), Dinges scored
T7 | GT 2, FSU 8                 Lackey doubled, Zmarzlak scored
T7 | GT 3, FSU 8                 Burress singled, Kerce scored
T7 | GT 4, FSU 8                 Ellis doubled, Lackey scored
T7 | GT 5, FSU 8                 Jones singled, Burress scored
T7 | GT 6, FSU 8                 Becchetti singled, Ellis scored
B8 | GT 6, FSU 9                 Faurot doubled, Lodise scored
B8 | GT 6, FSU 10               M. Williams singled, Faurot scored
B8 | GT 6, FSU 12               Tibbs singled, M. Williams scored; Smith scored on a fielding error
T9 | GT 7, FSU 12               Jones home run
T9 | GT 8, FSU 12               Lackey reached on fielder's choice, Becchetti scored
T9 | GT 9, FSU 12               Burress singled, Zmarzlak scored

OF NOTE:

Marco Dinges, Daniel Cantu, Drew Faurot and Jaime Ferrer each hit two-run home runs.
FSU has 103 home runs this season (54 games); last year, FSU hit 55 home runs in the same number of games. The Noles 48-home run improvement is the fourth-best in the country.
Faurot led FSU with three hits, including two doubles, his 17^th and 18^th of the year.
Ferrer's home run was his 16^th of the season, matching his combined total from his freshman and sophomore seasons. Cantu's home run was also the 32^nd of his career.
Dinges' home run was his 13^th of the season and FSU's 100^th of the year.
The Seminoles have a home run in 28 of the past 29 games and 49 of 54 games this season.
A day after being named the ACC Player of the Year, Tibbs added his ACC-best 79^th RBI of the year.
Conner Whittaker pitched 2.0 innings in his eighth start of the year. It was Whittaker's first start since April 6.
Cam Smith singled and doubled to extend his hitting streak to seven games, tied with Cantu for the longest on the team. He leads FSU with 90 hits and is hitting .402 this season, second-best in the league. His 19 doubles and 30 multi-hit games lead the team.
Ferrer was hit by a pitch for the 14^th time this season. He has been hit by 43 pitches in his career, fifth in FSU history.
Relief pitcher Brennen Oxford made his 100^th career appearance.
Jamie Arnold – making his first relief appearance of the season – earned his first career save. He is the eighth Seminole with a save this year.
The top eight batters in FSU's lineup had a hit and scored at least one run.
FSU has reached 40 wins for the first time since 2019. FSU's 17-game improvement from 2023 is the best in the country.

UP NEXT:
Florida State will face 4-seed Virginia Friday at 11:00 a.m. on ACC Network. The winner will advance to the semifinals Saturday.

For more information on Florida State baseball, check Seminoles.com for the latest news and scheduling information, and keep up with the team on social media through X and Facebook (@FSUBaseball) & Instagram (@NoleBaseball).

Noles Outlast Yellow Jackets in ACC Opener

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Team Stats

Drew Faurot

Cam Smith

Marco Dinges

Alex Lodise

Players Mentioned

John Abraham

Jamie Arnold

Daniel Cantu

Marco Dinges

Drew Faurot

Jaime Ferrer

Alex Lodise

Brennen Oxford

Cam Smith

Conner Whittaker

Florida State University Athletics