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Florida State

No. 5 Seminoles walk-off No. 3 Clemson, 6-5, in wild, 11-inning affair

On3 imageby: Ira Schoffel05/03/25iraschoffel
On3 image
Florida State pitcher Peyton Prescott celebrates after recording an out in the 11th inning Friday against Clemson. (Courtesy of FSU Sports Information)

It was a victory so special that it was worthy of two celebrations. And the Florida State baseball team did just that.

With the score tied in the bottom of the 11th inning Friday night, Florida State center fielder Max Williams laced a single to left field with runners on first and second base, and lead runner Nathan Cmeyla beat the tag at home after Clemson star Dominic Listi fired a strike to the plate.

That play gave the Seminoles a walk-off 6-5 victory and led to a jubilant celebration in the outfield as Florida State’s players mobbed Williams for his winning hit. The pandemonium was interrupted, however, as the umpires decided that the play at home needed to be reviewed.

A few minutes later, the umpires announced that Cmeyla did in fact beat the tag, and Florida State’s team erupted in a second celebration that was just as wild as the first.

“That was a heck of a Friday night ball game,” Florida State coach Link Jarrett said. “I can’t say enough about the fight of the team. That was back-and-forth. That’s as well as the game can be played.”

The series-opening win was not only important because it came against No. 3 Clemson, but because it came on the heels of a disappointing performance last weekend at Louisville.

With the win, Florida State improves to 32-9 overall and 13-6 in the ACC. Clemson falls to 36-11 and 13-9.

Williams, who also tied the game at 5-5 with a solo home run in the bottom of the 10th inning, went 3-for-6 on the night with 2 RBIs.

“I love doing anything I can for the team,” said Williams, who also delivered a crucial throw to third base to cut down a runner and end the sixth inning without a run scoring. “When I can step up in a moment like that, especially this year, I felt I let the team down in some situations, it’s always good to step up in a situation like that for our team.”

Left fielder Chase Williams went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs, and third baseman Cal Fisher went 3-for-5 with a home run of his own.

Florida State ace Jamie Arnold was dominant on the mound, allowing one run on three hits in 6.0-plus innings, but he did not factor into the decision. Reliever Peyton Prescott, who pitched a scoreless 11th, picked up the win to improve to 4-0.

The Seminoles actually led 2-0 after six innings, but Clemson rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh to take the lead. The Tigers added another run in the eighth to go ahead 4-2, but Florida State rallied for two in the ninth to send the game into extra innings.

Chase Williams got things going in the ninth with a one-out double, and he advanced to third on a groundout. Then the Seminoles got a two-out RBI double from pinch hitter James Hankerson and an RBI single from Gage Harrelson to tie it at 4-4

Listi blasted a solo shot in the top of the 10th to give Clemson the lead once more, but Max Williams then tied it in the bottom half with a homer of his own.

FSU and Clemson will play Game 2 of the series on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will air on the ACC Network.

Stay connected with Warchant.com for complete postgame coverage.

*Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State baseball fans in the FSU Baseball Forum*





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