⚾️: Noles Clinch Series at No. 8 TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas – The Florida State bats stayed hot Saturday, mashing 13 hits and 10 more runs to beat No. 8 TCU, 10-8, for the second consecutive game to clinch the series. Jaime Ferrer hit a pair of home runs and led FSU with three hits and four RBI, while Andrew Armstrong earned his first career save with 2.0 innings of one-run baseball.

Ferrer continued his torrid streak against the Horned Frogs and is hitting 6-for-10 with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, six runs scored and six RBI in two games against TCU. The sophomore hit a pair of two-run home runs Saturday, the first Seminole since 2021 with a multi-home run game.

Freshman Cam Smith had his second three-hit game of the season and connected on his third home run, most on the team. After TCU cut the lead to 5-4 in the sixth inning, Smith’s home run started a five-run top of the seventh for the Noles that provided FSU’s final runs.

TCU took an early lead against FSU starter Jamie Arnold, a freshman making his first career start on the road. The Horned Frogs’ first three batters of the game reached base, taking a 1-0 lead on Kurtis Byrne’s single. Arnold got out of the inning with a triple play off the bat of Luke Boyers, the first FSU has turned since 2009.

TCU doubled its lead in the second inning on Karsen Bowen’s RBI single. Arnold pitched 2.2 innings before leaving in the third inning with the bases loaded. Conner Whittaker (2-0) entered and forced a pop out to escape the inning unscathed.

In the fourth, James Tibbs III reached on a walk and Ferrer doubled before Jordan Carrion’s two-run single tied the game. Carrion leads FSU with 13 RBI on the season and is hitting .500 (12-for-24) with six extra-base hits.

FSU took the lead for good in the fifth inning against Luke Savage (0-1), who allowed four runs in 4.1 innings.

Behind Arnold and Whittaker, Doug Kirkland and Brennen Oxford pitched 1.2 innings before Armstrong entered in the eighth inning. After allowing a double and RBI single, Armstrong got out of trouble with a double play and pitched a perfect ninth inning for the first save of his career.

SCORING SUMMARY:

B1 | FSU 0, TCU 1                  Byrne singled, Davis scored
B2 | FSU 0, TCU 2                  Bowen singled, Richardson scored
T4 | FSU 2, TCU 2                   Carrion singled, Tibbs & Ferrer scored
T5 | FSU 3, TCU 2                   Tibbs grounded out, Vincent scored
T5 | FSU 5, TCU 2                   Ferrer home run, Ross scored
B5 | FSU 5, TCU 3                  Taylor home run
B6 | FSU 5, TCU 4                  Bowen singled, Richardson scored
T7 | FSU 6, TCU 4                   Smith home run
T7 | FSU 8, TCU 4                   Ferrer home run, Tibbs scored
T7 | FSU 9, TCU 4                   Rank singled, Carrion scored
T7 | FSU 10, TCU 4                De Sedas singled, Rank scored
B7 | FSU 10, TCU 5                Richardson sacrifice fly, Taylor scored
B7 | FSU 10, TCU 6                Bishop doubled, Byrne scored
B8 | FSU 10, TCU 7                Davis doubled, Silva scored
B8 | FSU 10, TCU 8                Taylor singled, Davis scored

UP NEXT:

The series finale is Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. RHP Carson Montgomery (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will throw for the Seminoles.

OF NOTE:

• Jaime Ferrer was 3-for-5 Saturday and is 6-for-10 with six RBI, six runs, two doubles, a triple and two home runs in the series against TCU. Saturday, he became the first Nole since Mat Nelson in May 2021 with two home runs in a game; he is the third Nole this year with three hits, three runs and three RBI in a game (DeAmez Ross vs. James Madison, Cam Smith at Jacksonville). He has hit for the cycle over the past two games and reached safely in 19 straight games, the longest active streak on the team and tied with James Tibbs III for the longest career streak among active Noles.
• Ferrer tied his career high with three runs scored and four RBI. He has scored three runs in back-to-back games vs. TCU.
• DeAmez Ross walked and Cam Smith singled to start the game. Both players have reached safely in the first six games of their college career. Smith added his team-high third home run of the season in FSU’s five-run seventh inning.
• FSU turned a triple play to end the first inning. It was the Noles’ first triple play since May 3, 2009, against Virginia Tech.
• Colton Vincent doubled to start the fifth inning, his fourth double of the year. He extended his hitting streak to 10 games, the longest of his career and the longest career streak for any active Nole. Vincent has five extra-base hits in six games in 2023; last year, he had six in 58 games.
• Ross, Smith, Ferrer, Tibbs and Vincent have reached safely in all six games this season.
• Jordan Carrion singled to score Tibbs and Ferrer and tie the game in the fourth inning. He leads FSU with 13 RBI on the season. His double in the seventh inning was his team-high fifth of the year.
• FSU has scored 10+ runs in four straight games for the first time since the 2019 postseason (ACC Tournament, three games in the Athens Regional). FSU is averaging 10.8 runs per game in 2023.
• Andrew Armstrong earned the first save of his career, pitching 2.0 innings, including a perfect ninth. He leads FSU pitchers with four appearances and opponents are hitting just .100 against him in 6.1 innings.

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 Twitter and Facebook (@FSUBaseball) & Instagram and TikTok (@NoleBaseball).