Big Eighth Propels FSU Past N.C. State in ACC Tournament Opener

Florida State scored four runs in the eighth inning to break a tie in Wednesday’s 7-3 ACC Tournament opening victory over N.C. State.

Chase Haney worked a scoreless eighth to pick up the win for the Seminoles. FSU improves to 1-0 in Pool A and will face Georgia Tech on Thursday at 3 p.m.

The Good: After a recent stretch that saw Florida State lose six games in seven tries, the Seminoles have now won two straight and have done so with timely hitting. Dylan Busby’s 2-run single in the sixth tied the game for FSU on Wednesday before a sacrifice fly by Steven Wells Jr. and a 2-run single by Taylor Walls in the eighth put the Seminoles ahead for good. FSU also got four scoreless innings from its bullpen.

The Bad: Baserunning woes continue to haunt Florida State. The Seminoles ran themselves out of the third inning. Quincy Nieporte was caught too far off second on a routine flyball to left field off the bat of Donovan Petrey, which resulted in a double play.

The Ugly: N.C. State’s troubles at the plate Wednesday can be largely attributed to a poor day at the top the order. The Wolfpack’s first three hitters — Stephen Pitarra, Evan Mendoza and Preston Palmeiro — were a combined 0-for-12.

Studs of the Game: John Sansone hit the game’s only home run — a solo shot in the first. Walls and Busby each drove in a pair of runs for Florida State on Wednesday while Jackson Lueck scored twice. Quincy Nieporte was 2-for-3 with a run scored. For N.C. State, Josh McLain was 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Duds of the Game: The aforementioned top 3 of the N.C. State order along with Chance Shepard all went 0-for-4 in the defeat. Reliever Will Gilbert allowed three runs in 1 2/3 innings to take the loss. For FSU, catcher Cal Raleigh was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.