There is still a chance for Florida State to win its first NCAA baseball national championship.
The Seminoles scored early and added another in the ninth to beat North Carolina 9-5 in an elimination game of the Men's College World Series. Florida State will face top-ranked Tennessee in the semifinals on Wednesday.
Florida State came out with a big fifth inning to take a commanding 7-1 lead, but the Tar Heels rallied back to close the gap to two runs. Florida State then got a stellar performance from relief pitcher Connor Hults to prevent NC State from tying or taking the lead, and home runs by Jackson West and Maxx Williams in the final inning sealed the victory for the Seminoles.
Florida State would need to beat Tennessee twice to reach the finals for the first time since 1999. The two schools battled it out in the first round in Omaha, with the Volunteers winning on a walk-off home run in the opening game.
The Florida State-Tennessee game is scheduled for 2 pm ET on Wednesday, following the championship game between Kentucky and Florida at 11 am ET. The SEC matchup was originally scheduled for Tuesday night.
USA TODAY had full coverage of the match, and you can read the full report below.
Florida State shuts down NC State in the ninth
Connor Hults capped off a stellar performance by holding North Carolina to a halt in the bottom of the ninth, including a strikeout against the dangerous Vance Honeycutt. The Tar Heels were only able to issue one walk in the ninth inning.
Florida State extends lead with consecutive home runs
Florida State added big runs in the top of the ninth on back-to-back home runs from Jackson West and Maxx Williams to extend the lead to 9-5.
Florida State needs three outs to beat North Carolina
Great performance from Connor Hults.
The Florida State relief pitcher held off North Carolina and prevented the Tar Heels from tying or taking the lead. He allowed just two hits over three innings and the Seminoles led 7-5 heading into the ninth inning.
Florida State is not making effective use of its runners.
Florida State wins the consolation game, but if NC pulls off a comeback win, the Seminoles will regret the number of runners they left on the field. Through seven innings, Florida State has 12 runners on base compared to NC State's four. The Seminoles lead 7-5.
North Carolina escapes bases-loaded jam
North Carolina fought back hard to put the game under control and prevent Florida State from extending their lead again.
Matt Poston walked three Seminole batters in the top of the sixth, loading the bases for Florida State with two outs. Scott Forbes elected to get Poston out and bring in Cameron Padgett, which turned out to be the right decision, as Padgett struck out Drew Faurot to end the inning and thwart the scoring threat.
North Carolina gets back in the game with a big three-run home run
Vance Honeycutt continues to mash.
He hit five homers entering the day, the most of any player in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, and added one more on Tuesday with a key three-run homer off Connor Whitaker that made the score 7-4 and put North Carolina back in the game.
The home run came after Alex Madera and Colby Wilkerson reached base and ejected Florida State pitcher Andrew Armstrong. Honeycutt was the first batter Whitaker faced in the game.
The Tar Heels continued their scoring in the bottom of the fifth inning, as three straight North Carolina batters reached base after the home run and Jackson Van de Blake singled to bring the team within two.
Kentucky vs. Florida consolation game postponed
The College World Series schedule had two qualifying games scheduled for Tuesday, but the second game was postponed until Wednesday. Due to inclement weather forecast for Omaha Tuesday night, the qualifying game between Kentucky and Florida has been postponed to Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET.
The winner of that game will play Texas A&M University.
Florida State extends lead with big inning
North Carolina's Dalton Pence is one of the Tar Heels' best pitchers, but Florida State was unfazed by the left-hander, scoring four runs in the fifth inning to take a commanding 7-1 lead over North Carolina.
Florida State sealed the game in the top of the fifth inning with six hits, including RBI singles from Daniel Cantu, Alex Rodais, Jackson West and Maxx Williams. Pence gave up the fourth run of the inning before being replaced.
North Carolina scores
North Carolina scored its first run of the game when the top of its batting lineup went on the end with two outs.
Vance Honeycutt hit a deep fly to left field that Florida State's Jayme Feller couldn't make a diving catch for a second, and in his next at-bat, Casey Cook hit the ball down the right field line, easily scoring Honeycutt with a double to tie the score at 3-1 after the third inning.
Florida State scores another run without a hit.
The Seminoles didn't need a bat (or a hit) to take a 3-0 lead.
Aidan Howe got Maxx Williams out in the top of the third, but things were a mess after that. Williams walked Cam Smith and James Tibbs III, then hit Marco Dinges with a pitch. UNC coach Scott Forbes decided that with the bases loaded, he had enough and replaced the starting pitcher with Matthew Mattais. Unfortunately, the relief pitcher had to face FSU slugger Jamie Feller. Mattais didn't square up to Feller, walking him on five pitches to score the second run of the game.
Forbes got Matthais out and brought in their best relief pitcher, Dalton Pence, who came in. With the bases loaded, Daniel Cantu hit a fly to center field that ran far enough for Thibs to score, and Alex Rodais got a pop out to end the inning, and the Seminoles ended the inning by scoring two more runs without a hit.
Florida takes the lead
The Seminoles are on the board.
After Jaime Ferrer walked and Daniel Cantu singled into shallow left field, second baseman Drew Faurot singled down the center line, scoring Ferrer from second base and giving Florida State a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning.
North Carolina loses to Florida State 1-2-3 in the first round
It was a quiet first inning as both teams started the day with three strikeouts each.
North Carolina's Aidan Howe started the game by throwing three consecutive pitches, then three straight for strikeouts to strike out leadoff hitter Maxx Williams. After Cam Smith popped out in his second at-bat, Howe struck out James Tibbs III again to retire the top of the first inning.
In the bottom of the first, Andrew Armstrong struck out Vance Honeycutt, then got Casey Cook and Parks Harbour to ground out to end the inning.
Florida State vs. North Carolina: TV, time, streaming and how to watch
- date: Tuesday, June 18
- time: 2pm ET
- Cable TV: ESPN
- Streaming: ESPN+, fuboTV, YouTube TV
North Carolina starting lineup
- Vance Honeycutt, CF
- Casey Cook, LF
- Parks Harbour, 1B
- Anthony D'Onofrio, RF
- Jackson Van de Blake, DH
- Luke Stevenson, C
- Gavin Gallagher, 3B
- Alex Madera, 2B
- Colby Wilkerson, SS
The Tar Heels' starting pitcher will be third-year right-hander Aidan Howe, who has a 4-2 record with a 4.53 ERA in 21 appearances, including seven starts, in 51 2/3 innings.
Florida State starting lineup
- Max Williams, CF
- Cam Smith, 3B
- James Tibbs III, RF
- Marco Dinges, DH
- Jaime Ferrer, LF
- Daniel Cantu, first baseman
- Alex Rodis, SS
- Drew Faurot, 2B
- Jackson West, C
The Seminoles' starting pitcher will be senior left-hander Andrew Armstrong. Armstrong has started eight games this season and is 5-0 with a 6.98 ERA. He has appeared in 22 games and pitched 38 2/3 innings.
Florida State vs. North Carolina: College World Series odds, spread and lines
According to BetMGM college baseball odds, Florida State is expected to win Tuesday's game. Want to place a bet? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering sports betting promotions for 2024.
Odds as of Tuesday afternoon are listed below.
- Spread the word: Florida State University (-1.5)
- Money Line: Florida State (-125); University of North Carolina (-105)
- O/U: 9.5
College World Series Bracket
Elimination matches are indicated with an asterisk
Away team will be listed first. All times are Eastern Time.
- Tuesday, June 18* Game 9:
- Florida State vs. North Carolina, 2 p.m.* Game 10:
Florida vs. Kentucky, 7 p.m.
- Wednesday, June 19 Game 11:
- Texas A&M vs. Tennessee, 2 p.m.
- Loser bracket to decide winner of Round 9 Game 12:
- Winner of Game 10 vs. Winner of Game 8, 7 p.m.
Loser bracket to decide winner of 10th match
Thursday, June 20
- The time is yet to be determined. Bracket 1 Final:
- Only if the winner of Game 9 beats Tennessee in Game 11 Bracket 2 Finals:
Required only if winner of Game 10 beats winner of Game 8
Men's College World Series Finals
- A best-of-three series between the winner of bracket one and the winner of bracket two. Game 1:
- June 22 (Saturday) 7:30 p.m. Game 2:
- Sunday, June 23, 2pm Game 3 (if necessary):
Monday, June 24th, 7pm
