It had been nearly two decades since an Atlantic Coast Conference team won back-to-back ACC Baseball Tournament championships.
If any team was going to break that streak, it's no surprise it was the Florida State Seminoles.
By rallying for an 11-8 victory in the 10th inning of Sunday's championship game at Durham, N.C., FSU continued its incredible run of dominance in this event.
The Seminoles not only won their second straight ACC tourney title, but their third in four years. FSU was playing in the championship game for the fourth straight season and recorded its eight title since joining the conference in 1992.
The last program to win three of four ACC titles was Wake Forest in 1998, '99 and 2001. The Demon Deacons also were the last school to win back-to-back championships.
FSU and Louisville traded blows all game Sunday before sophomore third baseman Drew Mendoza open broke a tie game with a two-run double in the top of the 10th.
Freshman pitcher Jonah Scolaro then closed out the game to record the victory.
Mendoza's game-winning hit capped off a day in which he went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs; he also walked twice. The Seminoles also got two hits apiece from Mike Salvatore, Rhett Aplin and Rafael Bournigal.
Starting pitcher Andrew Karp left early after giving up a pair of home runs in the fourth inning, but the Seminoles got strong efforts from relievers Scolaro and Clayton Kwiatkowski. Those two combined to allow just one run on five hits in the final seven innings.
Catcher Cal Raleigh was named tournament MVP, and he was one of four FSU players to make the all-tournament team. The others were Mendoza, pitcher Drew Parrish and DH Jackson Lueck.
With the victory, FSU enters the NCAA Tournament with a 43-17 record. The Seminoles now have a very solid shot at earning a Top Eight national seed for the tournament.
The 16 regional host sites will be announced tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET. The complete field will be revealed during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday at noon (ESPNU).
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