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Lucky 13: Max Williams' big day lifts No. 5 FSU Baseball to 13th straight victory

On3 imageby:Corey Clark•03/05/25•

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Max-Williams
Max Williams led the way for Florida State in a 9-7 win on Wednesday

It wasn’t as if FSU outfielder Max Williams was off to a terrible start in 2025.

The preseason All-America outfielder was doing well enough, making an impact here and there, as the No. 5 Seminoles won their first 12 games of the season.

But in Game 13? Well, Williams reminded everyone — most of all the Bethune-Cookman pitching staff — just how impactful his bat can be.

The junior outfielder had four hits, including a home run, and drove in five runs as the Seminoles made it 13 straight wins with a 9-7 victory over the Wildcats on Wednesday.

Williams had a two-run double in the first to get the scoring started for FSU, driving in Gage Harrelson and Alex Lodise. The Seminoles scored two more in the inning on a Jaxson West RBI single and a sac fly from Carter McCulley.

But Bethune-Cookman, which actually out-hit the Seminoles on Wednesday, 12-10, wouldn’t go away. The Wildcats scored one in the third off FSU starter Payton Manca and then hit back-to-back home runs off reliever John Abraham in the fourth to cut the lead to 4-3.

Williams upped the advantage real quick in the bottom of the inning, blasting a 427-foot, three-run homer that gave the Seminoles some breathing room. Williams also doubled again and added a single before lining out to right in the bottom of the eighth.

Florida State also added runs on a Lodise RBI single and a Drew Faurot walk with the bases loaded. But the Seminoles couldn’t ever quite put the Wildcats away, and it almost came back to bite them in the ninth.

Reliever Jacob Marlowe allowed a single, a double and a three-run homer in eight pitches as the Wildcats cut the lead to 9-7. Chris Knier then came on and recorded the save, but it wasn’t a ho-hum effort. He walked two but wound up striking out the side to preserve yet another victory for the Seminoles.

Williams and Lodise had seven hits between them, and Harrleson got on base three times to highlight the offense.

The pitching had its struggles, but both Manca and reliever Maison Martinez were effective on the mound for the Seminoles. Manca allowed just the one run in just his second-ever appearance in an FSU uniform, and Martinez pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to keep the Wildcats at bay in the middle innings.

Florida State gets a much-needed day off on Thursday before returning to Howser on Friday night for the first of a three-game series against Lipscomb.

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