10d ago baseball Edit

FSU slugger James Tibbs III delivers a Howser sendoff for the ages

James Tibbs III's third home run Saturday in the 12th inning vs. UConn lifted FSU to its 24th College World Series in program history. (Mike Olivella)

Curt Weiler • TheOsceola

Senior Writer

Throughout his three seasons as a member of the Florida State baseball team, James Tibbs III has delivered quite a few memories at Dick Howser Stadium, launching his way into the program record books and up MLB Draft boards.

Safe to say he may have saved his best Howser memory for what will be his final game -- and final at-bat -- at FSU's home ballpark.

Tibbs crushed a no-doubt two-run homer to right field in the 12th inning Saturday that proved to be the difference in the Seminoles' 10-8 win over UConn which advanced FSU to its 24th College World Series appearance and its first since 2019.

The mammoth home run was impressive in its own right, his 28th of the season to move him into a tie with Marshall McDougall for the fifth-most homers in a season in FSU baseball history.

Then you find out he called his shot.

"I sat on the bench and I told the coaches and everyone around us that it’s getting to the top and it’s done. I looked at (Daniel) Cantu and I was like I’m going to end it right here," Tibbs said in the postgame press conference. "That was just pure luck, but I was just confident. I was hoping I would get a pitch I could hit and luckily, I did.”

"I don't think three is lucky," FSU pitcher Conner Whittaker quipped after Tibbs said that.

Oh yeah, did I not mention that already? It wasn't his first home run of the game. Or his second.

Tibbs' game-winning home run was his third bomb of Saturday's game against UConn. In what will be his final game at Howser as a projected first-round pick in next month's MLB Draft, Tibbs became the first Seminole since Stephen Cardullo to hit three homers in a single game while setting new career highs in hits (5) and runs batted in (6).

"Tibbs is special. He's just so balanced, he was spitting on offspeed all day. We tried to sneak a fastball by him there, it was like trying to sneak cheese past a rat. It's tough to do and he didn't miss it," UConn head coach Jim Penders said after the game. "He's as balanced and as good a hitter as I've seen in my 10 years as a head coach."

A performance that humongous in a situation that intense was probably cathartic enough in its own right, but the context surrounding that likely only added to the feeling for the FSU slugger.

Tibbs was a runaway pick for ACC Player of the Year, leading the conference in home runs, slugging percentage, RBI and total bases this season.

And yet, he was held without a hit in FSU's three regional games (walking six times and scoring four runs) and had two hits and four RBI in the opener vs. UConn but was still looking for an extra-base hit in the NCAA Tournament.

Consider that accomplishment more than achieved with Tibbs' heroic performance Saturday in which he accounted for three of FSU's six home runs and six of its 10 RBI.

"It's pretty cool. I'm thankful we won, I'm thankful we get to go to Omaha. I'm thankful I get to do it with these guys, for this university. Anything on top of that is just icing on the cake."

Tibbs may have been the single best person on the FSU roster to have that type of performance to send the Seminoles to Omaha. He hit .300 or better with double-digit home runs in each of his two seasons. Had he wanted to test the portal and spend his likely final season in college elsewhere after FSU struggled mightily with a 23-31 record in Link Jarrett's first season as head coach, it would have been totally understandable.

He decided to stay and has been rewarded mightily for it. He has carved his name into the FSU record books, his 55 career home runs are fifth-most in FSU history and third-most among players who were there just three years.

And even more than that, his FSU career will end where the careers of all great FSU baseball players should end. In Omaha.

“Words can't really describe how thankful I am, how cool this is. I've been preaching this verse all year, it's Proverbs 16:9, it says, 'A man plans his path but the Lord establishes his steps,'" Tibbs said. "It's been a pretty wild three years, I think (Conner and I) can both attest to that. But I think it's perfect. It's exactly how I wanted it to be."