Seminoles snare walk-off win vs. JU in 11th; Whittaker to return this weekend

Florida State Sports Information Release:

The No. 8 Florida State baseball team (36-10) earned a 7-6 walk-off victory over Jacksonville (22-24) off Lance Trippel’s single down the left-field line to score the winning run on Tuesday evening at Dick Howser Stadium.

With the 11th-inning win, the Seminoles swept Jacksonville for the first time since 2018 and hold a 14-0 record over in-state opponents this season.

FSU’s first lead of the game came off Trippel’s walk-off single. The last time Florida State earned its first lead on the final play came in an upset victory over No. 1 Wake Forest on May 13, 2023, when Jordan Williams hit a single into right center to score Nander De Sedas from second in a 4-3 win. 

Williams earned his first start of the year Tuesday and recorded his first multi-hit game of the season with two singles; his first hit allowed DeAmez Ross to tattoo his first home run of the season over the right-field wall to cut the early deficit to one.

Relief pitcher John Abraham recorded the victory by allowing just one hit in two extra innings.

Down three in the eighth, Cam Smith extended his 56-game on-base streak with a walk before Marco Dinges and pinch hitter Jaime Ferrer were walked to load the bases with two outs. Alex Lodise blooped a single into right field to score one run before a foul out to the catcher ended the frame. 

The Seminoles loaded the bases off three walks in the ninth before a wild pitch scored Drew Faurot and a sacrifice fly from Dinges allowed Ross to sprint home and tie the game.

Trippel’s 11th-inning single marked his first RBI of the season and third of his collegiate career.

Whittaker to return for FSU

Junior right-handed pitcher Conner Whittaker, who has been rehabbing from an injury for the last month, is scheduled to return to the mound this weekend, Florida State coach Link Jarrett announced after Tuesday’s game.

Whittaker, who was in the weekend rotation earlier in the year, hasn’t pitched since early April. He is going to pitch from the bullpen when he returns to action.

Of Note:

• DeAmez Ross hit his first home run of the season and third of his career; FSU has hit at least one home run in 21 consecutive games, a school record. The Noles have a home run in 42 of 46 games this season.
• Jordan Williams earned his first start of the season. He tied a career high with two hits and stole his 10^th base of the year, a team high.
• Cam Smith drew walks in the eighth, ninth and 11^th innings, extending his on-base streak to 56 games, the seventh-longest in FSU history. It matches the latest this season Smith extended his on-base streak (an eighth-inning single vs. Stetson). The latest in the streak for Smith was a ninth-inning single at Louisville on May 19, 2023.
• Smith’s on-base streak has spanned a full calendar year; the last time he was held off the basepaths was May 5, 2023 in a win vs. Mercer.
• Smith scored his team-high 59^th and 60^th runs of the year; Smith’s three walks were a career high and tied for the most by a Seminole this season.
• Alex Lodise had his eighth multi-RBI game of the season; Ross had his fourth.
• Lance Trippel’s second hit of the season secured FSU’s first walk-off win and first extra-innings win of the season.
• Junior Jaime Ferrer made his first appearance off the bench in his career; Ferrer has started 157 games in his career.

UP NEXT:

Florida State travels to Pittsburgh for the final regular-season road series of the year. The Seminoles and Panthers will play Friday at 6 p.m. at Cost Field; the game will stream on ACCNX.

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