Florida State Baseball takes Louisville series with 9-4 victory
After watching his team struggle offensively and defensively on Friday, Florida State baseball coach Link Jarrett expressed confidence that his players would rebound and play much better on Saturday.
Less than 24 hours later, the Seminoles proved him right.
Right-fielder James Tibbs went 4-for-4, including a two-run home run, and the Florida State offense pounded out 12 hits in a 9-4 victory over visiting Louisville. The win clinched the ACC series for the No. 17 Seminoles and improved their record to 22-4 and 5-4; the Cardinals fell to 17-11 and 3-6.
“Good ball game,” Jarrett said. “Nice response and answer after yesterday. I thought we had a little more energy.”
While Tibbs led the offense, junior right-hander Conner Whittaker set the pace for the Florida State pitching staff. He allowed three runs on six hits in five innings to improve to 4-0.
Four relievers combined to close out the win, including senior Andrew Armstrong, who retired all three batters he faced in the ninth.
One day after committing four errors, the Florida State defense only had one miscue on Saturday. And while it resulted in an unearned run, it occurred after the Seminoles had already built a large lead in the eighth inning.
Along with his four hits, Tibbs scored two runs and drove in two others. Three other Seminoles recorded two hits: left-fielder Jaime Ferrer (2-for-4, 1 run, 1 RBI), freshman shortstop Cal Fisher (2-for-4, 1 run, 2 RBIs) and third baseman Cam Smith (2-for-5, 2 runs, 1 RBI).
Fisher, making his first career start, also blasted a two-run home run in the fourth inning.
After getting a couple of days off, Florida State will return to action against visiting Jacksonville University on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Stay connected with Warchant.com for postgame coverage.
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