CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – No. 10 nationally ranked Florida State scored two runs or more in four innings to hold off No. 22 nationally ranked Wake Forest with a 9-6 win in the first of two semifinal games on Saturday at the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship at Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The No. 5-seeded Seminoles (42-14) return to the ACC Championship game for the first time since 2018, when they won the title in Durham, North Carolina. Florida State made the championship game four consecutive seasons from 2015 to 2018, winning the title in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
The Seminoles’ offense was led by a game-high three base hits and four RBI from lead-off hitter Max Williams, who hit a home run in the sixth inning. Second baseman Drew Faurot was 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBI and two runs scored, while first baseman Daniel Cantu went 2-for-5 with a triple, RBI and two runs scored.
For the No. 8-seeded Demon Deacons, second baseman Adam Tellier was 2-for-5 at the plate with a run scored, while five other Wake Forest players – Marek Houston, Jack Winnay, Jack Reinisch, Javar Williams and Tate Ballestero – all drove in one RBI each with Ballestero’s coming off a solo home run.
Ballestero’s pinch-hit home run in the top of the sixth inning was the 55th home run of the championship, eclipsing the previous record of 54 set in 2022, the last time the tournament was held at Truist Field in Charlotte.
Picking up the win out of the bullpen for the Seminoles was John Abraham (5-1), who struck out four hitters and walked three others over 2.0 scoreless innings. Earning the save was Conner Whittaker (1), his first of the season, as he pitched the final 2.2 innings in relief, giving up two runs on three hits, one walk and one strikeout.
Wake Forest got the scoring going in the top of the second inning, starting with a walk and back-to-back singles to load the bases. Williams then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to plate the first run of the contest.
Two batters later, Houston hit a hard single to third base to double the lead at 2-0, before a walk and a wild pitch allowed another runner to waltz in from third base to extend the Wake Forest lead to 3-0 midway through the second inning.
It was the Seminoles' turn to score in the bottom half of the second, as Jaime Ferrier led off the at-bat with a single up the middle and then scored on a Cantu triple down the left-field line that got past the diving effort of the Wake Forest left fielder.
The next Florida State run would score on a fielding error by the Demon Deacons to cut the lead to one at 3-2. Following a strikeout and ground out, Williams laced a single through the left side of the infield to score a third Seminoles run and knot the game up at 3-3 after two innings played.
Florida State took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the third inning, as a double and two hit-by-pitches loaded the bases for Faurot with a two-run single through the left side to put the home team on top at 5-3.
Wake Forest sliced the FSU lead in half in the top of the sixth inning on a pinch-hit solo home run off the bat of Ballestero, only to see the Seminoles answer with a long ball of their own in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run shot to right-center field from Williams to push the lead back out to three at 7-4.
The Noles added to the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning on an RBI bunt single from Jaxson West and on a fielder’s choice ground out to increase the lead to 9-4 with two innings remaining in the contest.
Refusing to go down without a fight, the Demon Deacons took advantage of a lead-off walk to score back-to-back runs on a Winnay RBI double and Reinisch RBI single to again close the gap, this time at 9-6.
That would be the final score as the Seminoles pitched around a two-out single in the top of the ninth to seal the win.
Florida State is the first No. 5 seed to reach the championship game since North Carolina won the title as the No. 5 seed in 2019.
The Seminoles will take on the winner of the second semifinal game between the No. 6-seeded Duke Blue Devils and the No. 11-seeded Miami Hurricanes. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, May 26, at noon ET on ESPN2.
