Florida State University Athletics
Tuesday, June 18
Omaha, Neb.
2:00 PM ET
Florida State
49-16
9
vs
5
#4 North Carolina
48-16
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4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Florida State
0
1
2
0
4
0
0
0
2
9
14
0
North Carolina
0
0
1
0
4
0
0
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0
5
10
0
Photo by: Ken Lanese
Noles Stave Off Elimination – Again – With Victory Over No. 4 North Carolina
6/18/2024 7:19:00 PM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. – Behind 14 hits – including six in a four-run fifth inning – No. 8 Florida State beat No. 4 North Carolina, 9-5, to avoid elimination in the College World Series for the second consecutive game. Nine-hole hitter Jaxson West set a career high with four hits, including a ninth-inning home run, while Connor Hults improved to 3-1 with 4.1 scoreless innings.
The Seminoles (49-16) continue their nation's-best turnaround from a year ago and have now won 26 more games than the 2023 season. North Carolina finishes 48-16 after winning the ACC regular season title.
West and Max Williams hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning to provide the final margin. The pair combined for seven hits, four RBI and scored a pair of runs.
Florida State got a stellar performance from starting pitcher Andrew Armstrong. The senior was making his ninth start of the season but first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Armstrong powered through an injury in the first inning to toss a season-best 4.1 innings, allowing three runs over five hits and exiting with a 7-1 lead.
FSU got on the board first with an RBI single from Drew Faurot in the second inning against Carolina starter Aidan Haugh (4-3). The Noles added two runs without a hit in the third inning on a Jaime Ferrer bases-loaded walk and Daniel Cantu's sacrifice fly.
In the fifth inning, FSU pounded out six hits to plate four runs, all on RBI singles. UNC answered with a four-spot of its own in the bottom of the inning, but Hults came in to limit the damage. Hults threw 57 pitches and lowered his season ERA to 3.89.
The score remained 7-5 until West and Williams – both sophomore transfers from Alabama – hit back-to-back home runs, extending FSU's home run streak to 18 games, the second-longest in school history. In the bottom of the ninth, Hults walked the leader batter before a fielder's choice, strikeout and groundout ended the contest.
SCORING SUMMARY:
T2 | FSU 1, UNC 0 Faurot singled, Ferrer scored
T3 | FSU 2, UNC 0 Ferrer walked, Smith scored
T3 | FSU 3, UNC 0 Cantu sacrifice fly, Tibbs scored
B3 | FSU 3, UNC 1 Cook doubled, Honeycutt scored
T5 | FSU 4, UNC 1 Cantu singled, Tibbs scored
T5 | FSU 5, UNC 1 Lodise singled, Ferrer scored
T5 | FSU 6, UNC 1 West singled, Cantu scored
T5 | FSU 7, UNC 1 M. Williams singled, Lodise scored
B5 | FSU 7, UNC 4 Honeycutt home run, Madera and Wilkerson scored
B5 | FSU 7, UNC 5 Van De Brake singled, Harber scored
T9 | FSU 8, UNC 5 West home run (3rd, 353 ft)
T9 | FSU 9, UNC 5 M. Williams home run (14th)
OF NOTE:
FROM THE NCAA:
UP NEXT:
Florida State will get another shot at No. 1 Tennessee Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. ET. The Volunteers scored four runs in the ninth inning Friday night to beat FSU in both team's opener at the CWS.
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).
The Seminoles (49-16) continue their nation's-best turnaround from a year ago and have now won 26 more games than the 2023 season. North Carolina finishes 48-16 after winning the ACC regular season title.
West and Max Williams hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning to provide the final margin. The pair combined for seven hits, four RBI and scored a pair of runs.
Florida State got a stellar performance from starting pitcher Andrew Armstrong. The senior was making his ninth start of the season but first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Armstrong powered through an injury in the first inning to toss a season-best 4.1 innings, allowing three runs over five hits and exiting with a 7-1 lead.
FSU got on the board first with an RBI single from Drew Faurot in the second inning against Carolina starter Aidan Haugh (4-3). The Noles added two runs without a hit in the third inning on a Jaime Ferrer bases-loaded walk and Daniel Cantu's sacrifice fly.
In the fifth inning, FSU pounded out six hits to plate four runs, all on RBI singles. UNC answered with a four-spot of its own in the bottom of the inning, but Hults came in to limit the damage. Hults threw 57 pitches and lowered his season ERA to 3.89.
The score remained 7-5 until West and Williams – both sophomore transfers from Alabama – hit back-to-back home runs, extending FSU's home run streak to 18 games, the second-longest in school history. In the bottom of the ninth, Hults walked the leader batter before a fielder's choice, strikeout and groundout ended the contest.
SCORING SUMMARY:
T2 | FSU 1, UNC 0 Faurot singled, Ferrer scored
T3 | FSU 2, UNC 0 Ferrer walked, Smith scored
T3 | FSU 3, UNC 0 Cantu sacrifice fly, Tibbs scored
B3 | FSU 3, UNC 1 Cook doubled, Honeycutt scored
T5 | FSU 4, UNC 1 Cantu singled, Tibbs scored
T5 | FSU 5, UNC 1 Lodise singled, Ferrer scored
T5 | FSU 6, UNC 1 West singled, Cantu scored
T5 | FSU 7, UNC 1 M. Williams singled, Lodise scored
B5 | FSU 7, UNC 4 Honeycutt home run, Madera and Wilkerson scored
B5 | FSU 7, UNC 5 Van De Brake singled, Harber scored
T9 | FSU 8, UNC 5 West home run (3rd, 353 ft)
T9 | FSU 9, UNC 5 M. Williams home run (14th)
OF NOTE:
- Florida State won two games at the College World Series for the first time since 2012.
- North Carolina was the 12th ACC opponent the Seminoles faced this season; the only conference team FSU did not play in 2024 was Virginia Tech. FSU finished a combined 22-13 against the ACC this year.
- LHP Andrew Armstrong made his 11th career start and 9th of 2024. It was his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The senior tied a season high with 4.1 innings pitched and allowed three runs.
- Connor Hults improved to 3-1 with a career-high 4.1 innings pitched. He allowed just two hits in closing out the game.
- Jaxson West set a career high with his four hits. His home run in the ninth inning was the front-end of back-to-back home runs with Max Williams, FSU's eighth back-to-back home runs this season.
- James Tibbs opened FSU's four-run fifth inning with his 18th double, second-most on the team.
- All nine Seminoles reached base safely. On-Base streaks extended (10+): Tibbs (23, season high), Lodise (22, career high), M. Williams (20, career high), Dinges (17, career high), Ferrer (15), Faurot (13, career high).
- Hit streaks extended (10+): Ferrer (14 games, season high), M. Williams (10, career high).
- Florida State has scored at least seven runs in three consecutive games at the College World Series for just the second time in school history. FSU beat Cal State Fullerton 7-2 and Stanford 8-6 and 14-11 (13) in 1999.
- FSU has hit 129 home runs this season and at least one in 18 straight games, the second-longest streak in school history behind a 21-game streak directly preceding the current streak. FSU has a homer in 60 of 65 games this season and the Noles' 129 home runs are third in a season in school history.
- The Noles improved to 28-7 when scoring first and 2-0 in elimination games this postseason.
FROM THE NCAA:
- Florida State is now 32-47 all-time at the MCWS. The Seminoles are making their 24th trip to the MCWS, the third-most of any school, and their first visit since 2019. The Seminoles are seeking their first title and are the only school with more than 15 MCWS appearances to have not won a title yet.
- The Seminoles are 206-133 all-time in 60 all-time NCAA Tournament appearances. Their 206 wins are the second-most in NCAA history, trailing only Texas (257 wins, 63 appearances).
- The Seminoles own 49 wins after finishing 23-31 last season. The 26-win improvement is the best year-over-year improvement in the Division I this season and the best in program history.
- Head coach Link Jarrett is now 3-3 as a head coach in the MCWS (2-1 at FSU), having also coached Notre Dame to a 1-2 mark in the MCWS in 2022. He is the 12th coach to lead multiple programs to a MCWS victory.
- Link Jarrett moved to 18-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament in four NCAA Tournament appearances as a head coach.
- Link Jarrett is the 16th coach to lead multiple different programs to the MCWS and of those 16, he joins Mike Gillespie as the only man to do it after playing in multiple in MCWS as a student-athlete at Florida State. He is also one of two coaches (Brian O'Connor) this season that has been to the Division I Men's College World Series as a player and now a coach.
- Florida State's 49 wins are its most since finishing 50-17 in 2012.
- After not meeting in the regular season, Florida State met North Carolina for the first time this season in an elimination game on Tuesday. It was the fourth time the teams have met in the NCAA Tournament and second in the MCWS. The Noles are now 3-1 all-time against Tar Heels in the NCAA Tournament and 2-0 in the MCWS.
- Florida State has won multiple games in a single trip to Omaha for the first time since 2012 and just the second time in its past six MCWS appearances. The Seminoles went 2-2 in 2012 and had three 1-2 seasons (2010, 2017 and 2019) and one winless trip to Omaha (2008) in the past 20 years.
- With two home runs on Tuesday afternoon, Florida State has now hit 129 home runs this season, which ranks third-most in program history (146 in 1985; 131 in 1982). The Noles have also now hit a home run in 60 of the 65 games this season.
- FSU has now hit a home run in 18 straight games, dating back to a May 11th contest at Pitt. The 18 game HR streak is tied for the second-longest streak in program history, trailing only the 21-game HR streak earlier this season and an 18-game HR streak in 1983.
- Additionally, the Seminoles 76 home run improvement from last season is the largest improvement in the country, passing Austin Peay's 71-HR improvement from a season ago.
- Florida State has outscored foes 89-30 in the third inning this year, including 9-1 in Omaha and 16-1 in its last seven games.
- Florida State's 27 runs are its most ever through three games at the MCWS (24th appearance) (Previous high was 20 in 1999). The Seminoles 27 runs scored are the most of any ACC team in the MCWS (Clemson, 25 - 1996) and are the third-most since by any team since the move to Charles Schwab Field in 2011.
- Florida State's 85 runs in seven games this NCAA Tournament (10.6 per game) are the most runs per game of any team this season in the tournament. Tennessee (10.3 runs per game) is the only other team averaging at least 10 runs per game in the postseason.
- After leaving just three men on base in the win over Virginia, Florida State stranded 14 men on base in its win over North Carolina on Tuesday.
- With nine walks on Tuesday, Florida State has now drawn 22 walks in Omaha, the most by any team through three games of the MCWS since Clemson drew 23 walks in 2002.
- Florida State is 28-8 when scoring first.
- The Seminoles moved to 45-11 when scoring five or more runs this season, including a 2-1 mark in this year's MCWS.
- Drew Faurot put the Seminoles on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning, delivering an RBI single to center extending his on-base streak to 13 straight games.
- With his walk in the third inning, Cam Smith has now reached base in 62 of FSU's 65 games this season, but despite not recording a hit he still ranks second nationally behind Tennessee's Christian Moore (106) with 104 hits this season.
- Marco Dinges finished Tuesday with a 1-for-4 showing at the plate and now has 15 hits in this year's NCAA Tournament, tied with NC State's Alec Makarewicz and for the most by any player.
- Marco Dinges was hit by a pitch and drew a walk today to extend his on-base streak to 17 straight games.
- James Tibbs III drew a six-pitch walk in the third pushing his active team-leading on-base streak to 23 consecutive games, before recording his 18th double of the season in the top of the fifth.
- Jaime Ferrer drew a bases-loaded walk in third innings and now leads all players with 16 RBI in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The bases-loaded RBI walk was Jamie Ferrer's ninth RBI in this years MCWS. Since the move to Charles Schwab Field Omaha in 2011 only two players have had more RBIs in a single MCWS (Oregon State's Adley Rutschman had 13 in 2018 & Arkansas's Peyton Stovall had 10 in 2022).
- Max Williams finished the day 3-for-5 with two singles and a home run to extend his on-base streak to 20 straight games and his hit streak to 10 consecutive contests. It was his seventh 3-hit game of the year while his home run was his 14th of the season and part of the eighth back-to-back home runs for the Seminoles this season.
- Daniel Cantu opened the contest with a single in the second and an RBI single in the fifth to record his 21st multi-hit game of the season.
- Sophomore Jaxson West collected a career-high four hits on Tuesday, recording three singles and his third home run of the season.
- Jaxson West became just the second Florida State player to record a 4-hit game out of the 9-hole in the lineup in the MCWS, joining Ryan Barthelemy (4 hits vs. Stanford in 1999). His four hits match the most by a Florida State player in a MCWS game and is the first Seminole to do it since Buster Posey recorded 4 hits against Miami in 2008.
- Jaxson West and Max Williams hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the ninth innings. It was the eighth time this season that Florida State had recorded back-to-back home run in a game.
- West and Williams back-to-back home runs were also just the fourth time players have hit back-to-back homers at the MCWS since the move to Charles Schwab Field Omaha in 2011 (Florida's Wyatt Langford and Jac Caglianone in 2023, Ole Miss's TJ McCants, Calvin Harris and Justin Bench in 2022 and Florida State's Quince Nieporte and Cal Raleigh in 2017
- Back in 2017, Florida State's Quincy Nieporte and Cal Raleigh hit the first back-to-back homers in stadium history when the did it in the 9th inning vs. LSU (they actually did it on back-to-back pitches).
- Andrew Armstrong matched his longest outing of the season tossing 4.1 innings allowing three runs on a season-high tying five hits with only one strikeout. The 4.1 innings pitched was the longest start since tossing 6.0 innings at Louisville on May 18 of last season.
- Connor Whittaker had his shortest outing of the season, firing 0.1 innings of relief while allowing two runs on three hits.
- Connor Hults earned his third win of the season, improving to 3-1 on the year after tossing a career-high 4.1 shutout innings of relief on Tuesday.
- Today's win means Florida State will play in Game 11 on Wednesday at 2 p.m. CT against Tennessee. Florida State will be the home team.
UP NEXT:
Florida State will get another shot at No. 1 Tennessee Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. ET. The Volunteers scored four runs in the ninth inning Friday night to beat FSU in both team's opener at the CWS.
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).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hults, Connor (3-1)
L: Aidan Haugh (4-3)
Batting:
2B: Tibbs III, James 1
HR: Williams, Max 1 ; West, Jaxson 1
RBI: Williams, Max 2 ; Ferrer, Jaime 1 ; Cantu, Daniel 2 ; Lodise, Alex 1 ; Faurot, Drew 1 ; West, Jaxson 2
SF: Cantu, Daniel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Williams, Max 1 ; Smith, Cam 1 ; Tibbs III, James 2 ; Ferrer, Jaime 2 ; Cantu, Daniel 1 ; Lodise, Alex 1 ; West, Jaxson 1
HBP: Dinges, Marco 1
Batting:
2B: Vance Honeycutt 1 ; Casey Cook 1 ; Jackson Van De Brake 1
HR: Vance Honeycutt 1
RBI: Vance Honeycutt 3 ; Casey Cook 1 ; Jackson Van De Brake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vance Honeycutt 2 ; Parks Harber 1 ; Alex Madera 1 ; Colby Wilkerson 1
CS: Vance Honeycutt 1
PO: Vance Honeycutt 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
4
RBI
2
cf/lf
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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C/OF
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INF
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OF
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OF/1B
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