Seminoles drop opener at Wake Forest despite 12 Ks from Jamie Arnold
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Despite a career-high 12 strikeouts from Jamie Arnold, the No. 8 Florida State baseball team fell 5-4 Friday evening at No. 12 Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons scored a pair of runs in the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie.
Arnold struck out 12 batters in 5.2 innings, matching his career-high strikeouts from earlier this season vs. Notre Dame. Wake Forest countered with Chase Burns, a projected top pick in this summer’s MLB Draft, who struck out eight batters in a season-low 5.0 innings. Both pitchers allowed three runs.
Max Williams was 3-for-5 for Florida State, his fifth consecutive multi-hit game, including a leadoff home run off Burns on the second pitch of the game. Cam Smith and Daniel Cantu added two hits for the Seminoles.
Tied 1-1 in the fifth inning, Jaxson West gave FSU the lead with a sacrifice fly, followed by Marco Dinges’ RBI single. Dinges added an RBI groundout in the ninth after Wake scored a pair of runs in the eighth inning, but Cole Roland earned his first save of the year with a strikeout to end the contest with Jordan Williams standing on second base.
OF NOTE:
- Max Williams hit a 400-foot home run on the second pitch of the game, his sixth of the season. It was FSU’s first leadoff home run of the season.
- Williams extended his hitting streak to eight games and his on-base streak to 10 games, both career highs. Williams was 3-for-5, his fifth straight multi-hit game. He has seven hits over his last two games.
- Florida State has hit a home run in 33 of 37 games in 2024, including 12 consecutive.
- Cam Smith was 2-for-5 with a run scored, extending his on-base streak to 47 games, the 14th-longest streak in Florida State history. Smith is hitting .410 on the season and has multiple hits in six consecutive games; Smith leads FSU with 22 multi-hit games this year.
- Jaime Ferrer was 1-for-4 and was hit by a pitch. Ferrer leads FSU with 13 HBP on the season and 42 for his career, the fifth-most in Florida State history.
- James Tibbs was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored. Tibbs leads Florida State with a .411 batting average. Tibbs and Smith are the only Power 5 teammates batting over .400 this season.
- Starting pitcher Jamie Arnold tied a career high with 12 strikeouts. His previous 12-strikeout performance also came in just 5.2 innings pitched.
- Tibbs, Ferrer and Daniel Cantu stole bases for FSU. For the season, FSU is 44-for-48 on the basepaths. Cantu’s stolen base was his first of the season.
- Wake Forest starting pitcher Chase Burns had allowed four stolen bases on the season before Friday; all three of FSU’s swipes were off Burns.
- Cantu was 2-for-5 with a double and his first stolen base. Cantu’s 12 doubles are third on the team, behind Drew Faurot (15) and James Tibbs (14).
UP NEXT:
Florida State and Wake Forest will play game two of the series Saturday at 4 p.m. at David F. Couch Ballpark. LHP Carson Dorsey will make his third start of the season for the Noles.
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