After months of anticipation, the start of the Link Jarrett era at Florida State finally began Friday night.

And the former FSU shortstop from the early 1990s got to celebrate his first win in his head coaching debut as the Seminoles began the 2023 season with a 12-7 win over James Madison in front of a loud and active crowd at Dick Howser Stadium.

It was a crowd that had, no doubt, been waiting months, maybe even years for this moment. And it was a crowd that included FSU football coach Mike Norvell, who threw out the first pitch, and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

Although Jarrett has been a part of quite a few opening days as both a coach and a player, he admitted this one felt a bit different.

"It did (feel different)," Jarrett said. "You're looking up in the crowd before the game and there are so many people that you know that are pulling for your, for the team. People that you have known for 20, 25, 30 years are here. That's very unique. As this thing is winding down and you feel like you're about to get your first win, it's hard to put into words what it actually felt like to walk out here today and get in and out as the coach at Florida State...

"I'll never forget it and I'll also never the effort (from my team). Those guys wanted to do this and they wanted to do it at a very high level. They're hungry. I'll remember that feeling and that atmosphere."

Perhaps the worst moment of the day for Jarrett? A line drive he took off his shin in the middle innings of Friday's game.

"That's the only black mark on my day," Jarrett quipped.

The Seminoles took the win in large part thanks to a very strong start at the plate, jumping out to a 7-1 lead through three innings after falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning.

FSU was held scoreless over the ensuing four innings, allowing JMU to cut the lead to 7-4. However, the FSU bats exploded for five runs in the bottom of the eighth anchored by Jordan Carrion's three-run single to turn a relatively close game into a convincing victory.

Carson Montgomery got the start on the mound for the Seminoles. Although he wasn't the most effective, allowing at least one baserunner in each inning of work, he was tagged for just the one run over four innings. He allowed three hits, issued three walks and had two hit-by-pitches.

When David Barrett allowed three runs in relief of Montgomery in the sixth inning, veteran reliever Wyatt Crowell (1-0) was tasked with escaping the jam and did just that, inheriting a bases-loaded, one-out jam and getting out of it with a clutch double play to third base.

"Using Wyatt at that moment to settle the game down (is) exactly what we thought we might have to do to get out of the gates," Jarrett said. "He was dynamic and he took control of the game."

Strong start and finish more than enough for FSU

Although there was that chunk in the middle where the FSU offense was stifled, the start and finish were more than enough for the Seminoles to comfortably beat the Dukes.

FSU scored two-plus runs in each of the first three innings, taking advantage of some control issues from JMU starter Donovan Burke, who lasted just 1.2 innings and issued three walks with three wild pitches.

After FSU managed just six hits in the first seven innings, it exploded for four hits in the final inning. Included in that was Carrion's third hit of the game. He had two of FSU's four extra-base hits, a pair of doubles and two runs batted in.

"We won the game. That's all that really matters," Carrion said after the win. "It doesn't matter how many hits I had as long as I helped the team win. That's what matters."

Even while the offense wasn't totally revolutionized in Jarrett's first game as head coach, his impact was evident right away. The Seminoles struck out just once in the first four innings and twice in the first five.

Those numbers increased slightly as the game progressed with FSU finishing the game with seven strikeouts. Still, for a team that was among the national leaders in strikeouts each of the last few seasons, that was a notable improvement.

Freshmen step up

A pair of FSU true freshmen made their debuts Friday night under the lights at Howser.

And they did so in major roles, with freshman centerfielder DeAmez Ross leading off and freshman third baseman Cam Smith hitting second. Each of them made early impacts in their collegiate debuts.

Ross led off the bottom of the first inning with a single and finished the game with perhaps the single-most impactful stat line of the game. He had three hits, three RBI, three runs and two stolen bases.

"You can tell when you speak with him and watch him work that he understands himself, the game and what he's doing. He's a savvy baserunner, he's a savvy centerfielder," Jarrett said of Ross. "If we feel like (the leadoff spot) is a role he can play, we needed to get into it right now because that's not an easy task, to go lead off your first college game. But he had showed us the traits that we look for in that type of role and we wanted him to get that experience, just like Cam as a freshman batting second."

Smith didn't get a hit in his first at-bat, but did in his second, rocketing a triple off the top of the wall in dead center field to bring in his first career RBI and subsequently scored his first run. He also played a very strong third base defensively, making quite a few solid plays including the double play which got out FSU out of its sixth-inning jam.

Up Next

Game two of the FSU-JMU series is set to be played Saturday at 2 p.m. It will be broadcast on ACC Network with Jackson Baumeister getting the start for the Seminoles.

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