CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Florida State knew it was out of the running for the ACC Baseball Championship trophy before it took the field on Friday. But with rival Miami in the opposing dugout and an NCAA resume to pad, the Seminoles still had plenty of motivation.
FSU received a solid outing from ACC Pitcher of the Year Parker Messick before a rain delay halted play in the middle of the fifth inning, and reliever Jonah Scolaro stifled a Hurricane threat in the bottom of the ninth to secure a 6-3 victory before 3,655 at Truist Field,
FSU (30-22) will now await Monday’s NCAA Tournament selections. The Seminoles have made 57 previous NCAA trips and hold the nation’s longest active streak with 42 straight appearances. Miami (32-19) also has its sights on an NCAA bid, which would be the Hurricanes’ 47th all-time.
Messick (7-2) yielded five hits and a pair of runs during his five-inning stint, striking out seven batters while walking one.
Florida State never trailed after grabbing a 3-0 lead in the first inning against Hurricanes starter Jake Garland (6-3). Robby Martin singled home the game’s first run, and Dylan Simmons added a two-run double.
Trailing 6-2 in the bottom of the ninth, the Hurricanes pushed one run across against FSU reliever Jack Anderson and had the bases loaded with two outs. But Scolaro came on to face Anthony Vilar and caught the Miami sophomore looking on a 2-2 pitch for a called third strike and the final out of the game. The save was Scolaro’s first of the year.
Miami’s Raymond Gil hit his eighth home run of the season in the fourth inning, and Logan Lacey capped Florida State’s scoring with his seventh homer in the top of the ninth.
ACC batters have hit 38 home runs in 11 games during this year’s tournament. The ACC Baseball Championship record for home runs since the tournament went to pool play in 2007 is 51, set in 2010 in in Greensboro (in 13 games). The current tournament format consists of 15 games.
