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Jaxson West and Max Williams drilled back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning to spearhead Florida State's entry into the 2024 College World Series Final Four on Tuesday at the Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Nebraska. The Seminoles beat the North Carolina Tar Heels, 9-5, in their win-or-go-home second-round duel.
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West led off the ninth with a solo shot off Cameron Padgett. Then, Williams followed West's lead with another one-run homer to the right on a 1-0 pitch from Padgett to pad the Seminoles' lead to 9-5.
Padgett was immediately replaced by Ben Peterson, who allowed an infield single by Marco Dinges with two outs before pitching Jaime Ferrer to a flyout to center to end the inning.
North Carolina had an opportunity in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings but Connor Hults shut down the Tar Heels' side to hand the Seminoles a meeting with top-seed Tennessee in college baseball's version of the Final Four.
Florida State pounds North Carolina early with a barrage of singles
Florida State pounded North Carolina early in the game, scoring three runs between the second and third innings to move up 3-0. Drew Faurot singled to drive Jaime Ferrer to home plate for a 1-0 lead in the second. The Seminoles doubled the lead after Ferrer induced a bases-loaded walk that allowed Cam Smith to score.
The three-time CWS runners-up made it 3-0 after Daniel Cantu hit a sacrifice fly that allowed James Tibbs III to score. North Carolina got themselves on the board on a Casey Cook double that drove Vance Honeycutt to home plate.
The two-run lead would increase to six as Florida State scored four runs at the top of the fifth. Cantu singled to the left to drive in Tibbs and Alex Lodise hit another single that scored Ferrer and made it 5-1. West and Williams delivered back-to-back singles to give the Seminoles a 7-1 advantage.
The Tar Heels slugged their way back into the game with Honeycutt blasting a three-run homer off Connor Whittaker, reducing the deficit to 7-4. They made it a two-run game after Parks Harber scored on a Jackson Van De Brake single. Florida State called up Hults from the bullpen to replace Whittaker and shut down the threat by putting out Van De Brake on a fielder's choice.
Both teams traded zeroes in the next three innings until the successive ninth-inning homers by West and Williams. Hults was handed the victory after pitching 4 1/3 shutout innings. Aidan Haugh took the loss for North Carolina, as he allowed three runs in 2 1/3 innings.
Florida State earned another trip to the College World Series Final Four with a win over North Carolina but they face a tougher task in top seed Tennessee, who will have a twice-to-beat incentive in the semifinals.
Will Florida State make the College World Series final? Let us know your reactions in the comments section.
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