Freshman James Tibbs hit a pinch-hit solo home run in the seventh inning as the Florida State baseball team (24-14, 11-9 ACC) beat Clemson (25-14, 5-11) 4-3 Saturday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C. Tibbs’ seventh home run of the year broke a 3-3 tie.
Conner Whittaker (2-1) pitched 3.1 innings without allowing a base hit for his second win of the year.
All three of Clemson’s runs came on solo home runs. Blake Wright and Max Wagner hit back-to-back home runs off Bryce Hubbart in the first inning and the score remained 2-0 until the fifth inning, when FSU was able to capitalize on a pitching change and take the lead.
***Don't miss out on any of our great FSU sports coverage. Get your 30-day FREE trial***
Isaiah Perry singled and Tyler Martin walked against Geoffrey Gilbert before Jordan Carrion’s RBI single scored Perry and got FSU on the board. Nick Hoffmann entered and allowed an infield single to Brett Roberts that scored Martin; Carrion scored when Hoffmann couldn’t find the bag at first base while taking the throw from first baseman Bryar Hawkins.
Wagner’s second home run of the game – and fourth of the weekend – tied the score at 3-3 in the sixth inning.
Through six innings, all six of FSU’s hits were singles, while Clemson had three home runs and a double among its seven hits.
Conner Whittaker relieved Hubbart in the sixth inning, with a runner on first, two outs and a 2-2 count. The freshman struck out Jonathan French to keep the score knotted at three.
Tibbs pinch-hit for Perry and sent a home run over the fans in the right field seats. Whittaker kept the Tigers off balance throughout his outing. The only baserunner Whittaker allowed was a seventh inning hit batter, and he retired the final eight batters for the win.
The series finale between the Tigers and Seminoles is Sunday at 1:00 p.m. and will stream on ACCNX. RHP Carson Montgomery (4-1) will make his first start in the weekend rotation this year.
OF NOTE:
* Jordan Carrion got FSU on the board with an RBI single in the fifth inning. Over his past nine games, Carrion is hitting 15-31 with 10 runs, 7 RBI, 2 doubles, a home run, 8 walks, a stolen base and has been hit by a pitch.
* Carrion has a career-best seven-game hitting streak and also stole his team-best fifth base.
* Treyton Rank started at first base for the first time this season. Of his 17 starts, Rank has started 8 at second base, 5 in left field, 3 at shortstop and 1 at first base. He singled in FSU’s 3-run fifth inning and has reached safely in seven straight games.
* Reese Albert singled in his first at-bat and now leads FSU with a .313 batting average.
* Tyler Martin singled in the third inning and has reached base safely in all 12 games played this year and 14 straight dating to last season.
* Jaime Ferrer doubled in the seventh, extending his on-base streak to a career-best 14 games. He leads FSU with 13 doubles on the season.
* Isaiah Perry singled and stole a base. He is now 4-for-4 on the year in stolen base tries.
* James Tibbs pinch-hit for Perry in the seventh and hit a home run, his seventh of the year. It was FSU’s second pinch-hit homer of the season (Jackson Greene vs. Stetson).
FSU Softball completes sweep of Clemson with 6-0 win
On a day honoring the three graduating Seminoles -- Maegan Tomlinson, Sydney Sherill, and Danielle Watson -- the FSU softball team used consistent offense, an explosive third inning, and exceptional pitching from Mack Leonard and Kathryn Sandercock to beat the Clemson Tigers 6-0. This win completes their sweep over the 17th-ranked Tigers. The win also clinched the school’s best start in its history with a 43-5 record.
At JoAnne Graf Field Saturday afternoon, 1,573 spectators came to watch the senior day celebrations and Seminole victory. The crowd was the tenth largest for a game at JoAnne Graf Field in program history. Tomlinson got the first start of her career for Senior Day.
Mack Leonard started the game and pitched 3.2 innings while allowing zero runs on two hits with one strikeout. Kathryn Sandercock pitched 2.1 innings and kept the Tigers scoreless while only allowing one hit and getting two strikeouts. Emma Wilson came into the game in the top of the seventh inning for the Seminoles and got the first two outs. Danielle Watson came in to get the last out on Senior Day.
The game opened with a scoreless first inning. At the top of the second, Devyn Flaherty got hit by a pitch and immediately stole second base. When Jahni Kerr stepped up to the plate, she hit a single to center field to give the Seminoles a 1-0 lead and the team never looked back.
In the bottom of the third inning, Kaley Mudge got the Noles started with a single, and immediately advanced to second on a throwing error. Kalei Harding stepped up to bat, hitting a single to left field to score Mudge and give the Noles a 2-0 lead.
With only one out in the inning, it was Flaherty’s turn to score a run for the Seminoles, as she hit a single to right field that drove in Harding and gave the team a 3-0 lead. At the very next at-bat, Michaela Edenfield hit her team-leading 16th home run, this time a two-run shot that hit the left-field foul pole and scored Flaherty, giving FSU a 5-0 lead.
The scoring wasn’t quite finished for the Seminoles though as the bottom of the fourth began with an Amaya Ross double and a quick advance to third after a passed ball. It was then time for senior Sydney Sherrill to drive in a run as she hit a deep sacrifice fly to score Ross and propel the Seminoles to a 6-0 lead, which solidified the final score on the day.
The Seminoles will be back in town next for a top-10 matchup as they take on No. 7 Oklahoma State. The first game of the series is Thursday at 7 p.m.
----------------------------------------------------
Discuss this story with other FSU fans on our Seminole Baseball Message Board