The Daily Nole

FSU Baseball: Noles Get Back to Winning Baseball vs. Wolfpack

Jeremy Esbrandt/FSU athletics

Getting a win at the ACC Tournament is always a good thing, but on Wednesday, Florida State looked more like the team that ascended into the top 5 midway through the season than the team that had dropped six of seven entering the regular season finale.

The Seminoles picked up their sixth straight ACC Tournament win on Wednesday with a 7-3 victory over N.C. State. Unlike during FSU’s late season skid where the Noles consistently found a way to lose, it was sound defense and timely hitting that propelled the Seminoles to the victory.

On the mound, Drew Carlton was solid, but it was the FSU bullpen which reverted to midseason form to help pull out the victory. Carlton allowed three runs in five innings, but Ed Voyles, Matthew Kinney, Chase Haney and Tyler Warmoth combined to allow just three hits and two walks in four shutout innings of relief.

Through the early and middle parts of the season, Florida State was shaping up to be a scrappy, resilient bunch. The Seminoles again had that look on Wednesday.

FSU fell behind 3-1, thanks to Wolfpack runs in the second, third and fourth innings, but found a way to claw back into things. Timely hitting was a big reason for that.

After Steven Wells Jr. popped up with the bases loaded for the second out in the sixth, first baseman Dylan Busby came through with a 2-run single to right to knot the contest 3-3.

Wells was able to atone in the eighth for not getting the runners over earlier. With the bases loaded in a tie game with no one out, Wells delivered the RBI sacrifice fly to center field that not only put the Seminoles ahead for good, but allowed all three runners to advance.

It was an excellent job of baserunning by a team that had struggled mightily in that category this season. Earlier in the game, Quincy Nieporte was caught off second base for a double play on a routine flyball to left by Donovan Petrey.

Two batters after Wells had put FSU in front, shortstop and leadoff man Taylor Walls broke out of a 1-for-17 slump by pulling a 2-run single to right field to make it 6-3. Dylan Busby would score the game’s final run on a wild pitch.

Not only was Wednesday a solid day for the FSU offense and the bullpen, but it was a pretty good day in the field as well. Ben DeLuzio made the nighttime highlight shows with a second inning catch in center field where he collided with the wall, leaving his face bloody in two spots.

John Sansone might have got the scoring started for Florida State on Wednesday with a first inning solo home run, but his biggest play may have been in the field in the eighth inning.

Sansone was able to put an early error behind him by making a beautiful diving catch at third on a line drive off the bat of Chance Shepard. The diving play came with two outs and Wolfpack runners on the corners and allowed the game to head to the bottom half of the inning even.

After a late-season stretch that saw FSU plagued by bad baserunning, poor situational hitting and less than stellar starting pitching, Wednesday’s Seminoles looked more like the team that found ways to win games throughout the early and middle parts of the season rather that the one that found ways to lose them later on.

The victory on Wednesday could also go a long way in helping Florida State serve as a NCAA Regional host. The Seminoles were 27-9 at home this season and 8-10 everywhere else.

ACC TOURNAMENT SCENARIO BREAKDOWN

FSU will take on Georgia Tech on Thursday at 3 p.m. EST. The Yellow Jackets fell to Miami on Wednesday, 4-0. If the Seminoles win, the winner of Saturday’s contest between Florida State and Miami would advance to the ACC Championship on Sunday. Both N.C. State and Georgia Tech would be eliminated from title contention with an FSU victory.

If Florida State loses on Thursday, the Seminoles can still win Pool A by having the Yellow Jackets lose to N.C. State on Friday and then defeating top-seeded Miami on Saturday.

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