Sophomore Max Williams leads No. 5 FSU baseball to ACC Tournament championship game
No. 5 Florida State baseball continues to make its case of returning to Dick Howser Stadium and hosting an NCAA tournament regional.
After picking up a crucial victory over Virginia on Friday to win Pool D, FSU followed up with a 9-6 victory over No. 8 Wake Forest in the ACC Semifinals and will advance to the finals for the first time since 2018.
FSU is not only one game away from clinching its ninth ACC title in school history but could get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles will face Duke on Sunday at noon.
Max Williams puts on a highlight show in sixth inning
Max Williams was everywhere in FSU's victory. The sophomore outfielder made two game-changing plays on offense and defense.
While at center field with two outs remaining in the sixth inning, Williams made a leaping catch that robbed what could've been a home run for the Demon Deacons, keeping the score at 5-4.
“I thought I had a shot,” Williams said when asked about the catch. “The off outfielders Jaime (Ferrer) and (James) Tibbs both did a good job counting me down, so I knew where the wall was, so that allowed me to time to jump and make a play.”
About 15 minutes later, at the plate, Williams blasted a two-run home run to extend FSU's lead to 7-4. It was his ninth home run of the year.
“The first couple of games I just kept dribbling them to the second I kept getting beat on off speed,” Williams said. “So in the cage, I was just kind of working on trusting my hands, going back to my approach going the other way and kind of just trusting who I am as a hitter.”
Earlier in the game, he helped the game at three with an RBI single. Williams finished the day with three hits and four RBI.
Link Jarrett depends on FSU bullpen early
It was a frustrating day for FSU coach Link Jarrett and his pitching staff. Five Seminoles saw action on the mound.
Andrew Armstrong was the starting pitcher for the Seminoles. The senior lefty only lasted 1.2 innings after allowing three hits, three runs and three walks.
“We seem to put ourselves on our heels a little bit with some of the lead-off walks that we had in the game, but you have to pitch,” Jarrett said in his opening statement after the game. “This is not a strike-throwing competition. You have to manage both sides of the play and sometimes that leads to some walks that got us in a little trouble.”
John Abraham replaced Armstrong to get the Seminoles out of a jam. Abraham led the staff with four strikeouts in two innings.
Connor Hults took over in the fourth inning. His biggest play was a 12-pitch strikeout on a full count to end the fifth inning. Joe Charles replaced Hults after giving up a home run to Wake Forest's Tate Ballestero in the sixth inning.
Connor Whittaker was the closer for the Seminoles, pitching the final 2.2 innings.
FSU baseball did enough to be a top 8 national seed
The Seminoles have now done more than enough to secure at least the top-eight seed of the NCAA Tournament.
After missing the tournament last year, the Seminoles could host regionals for the first time in six years next week and, if they advance, super regionals.
Florida State has been projected to host regional as a top-8 national seed by Baseball America and D1Baseball.com. The Seminoles, 41-14, are 27-4 at Dick Howser Stadium.
“This team is one of the best eight teams in the country,” Jarrett said. “There's no question in my mind. They've responded time and time and time again, and that's not ultimately my decision. You guys study it. The committee clearly watches everything that's going on this weekend more closely than I can. These guys have earned it.”
The selection show will be on Monday at noon on ESPN 2.
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU baseball outlasts Wake Forest to advance to ACC tournament final
