FSU baseball sees unbeaten streak end at Clemson; softball erupts early in win at Pitt

CLEMSON, S.C. - No. 12 FSU dropped both games of the doubleheader with No. 4 Clemson, 15-5 and 9-8. The Seminoles (19-2) entered the ACC series with the Tigers (21-2) undefeated on the season.

FSU dropped the second game as Clemson scored eight runs in the ninth inning for the walk-off victory.

Clemson trailed 8-1 in the bottom of the ninth when Jacob Hinderleider belted a three-run homer.

After a flyball double by Jacob Jarrell, Cam Cannarella’s walk and Nolan Nawrocki’s single, Blake Wright hit a one-out grand slam to tie the score 8-8.

Jimmy Obertop was hit-by-pitch with two outs and Will Taylor walked to set up Hinderleider’s second hit of the frame, a single to right-center, to score Obertop for the winning run.

FSU threw four pitchers in the ninth - Hudson Rowan, John Abraham, Carson Dorsey and Joe Charles.

In the second game, sophomore FSU starter Jamie Arnold allowed one run and three hits while striking out nine Clemson hitters.

Arnold has allowed just two earned runs over 34.2 innings this season, with 53 strikeouts.

Arnold’s 7.0 innings and 110 pitches were career highs and the most for a Seminole this season.

Florida State hit a season-high five home runs in the second game at Clemson – one each from Daniel Cantu, Cam Smith, Max Williams, Jaime Ferrer and Marco Dinges. Ferrer and Alex Lodise hit home runs in game one.

FSU and Clemson will play the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.

-- Information from Clemson contributed to this report.

OF NOTE:

• Jaime Ferrer hit home runs in both ends of the doubleheader Saturday - a first-inning grand slam in game one and a solo home run in game two. Ferrer now leads FSU with nine home runs on the season.
• Ferrer’s three hits in game two were a season high.
• FSU’s four grand slams on the season are three more than last season.
• Jamie Arnold pitched a career-high 7.0 innings, the longest outing for a Seminole this year. He has allowed just two earned runs in 34.2 innings pitched (0.52 ERA).
• FSU’s streak of six consecutive games without an error ended in game one. The Noles’ six-game streak tied a school record.
• Cam Smith drew a walk in game one and was 2-for-5 in game two to extend his on-base streak to 31 games. Ferrer has reached safely in 27 straight games.
• FSU’s five home runs in game two were the Noles most in a game since 2021 (five vs. Wake Forest).

FSU softball travels to Pitt

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The No. 18 Florida State softball team (19-9, 2-2) scored 13 runs in the first three innings to cruise to a 13-4 victory in five innings over Pitt (8-19, 0-7) on a chilly afternoon at Vartabedian Field in Pittsburgh, Pa.  

The Seminoles wasted no time getting the bats going as back-to-back singles from Kaley Mudge and Jaysoni Beachum put a runner in scoring position for Kalei Harding.

Harding singled to bring home Mudge for the Seminoles first run of the game. After back-to-back pop-ups, Jahni Kerr smashed her second home run of the year to center field to give the Noles a 4-0 lead after the top of the first. 

Pitt was able to put runners on the corners in the bottom of the first inning, but Makenna Reid got the Panthers swinging to end the inning. 

Katie Dack led off the second inning with a walk, and after a Devyn Flaherty double, Beachum hit her seventh home run of the season to put the Noles up 7-0. After another single from Harding, Amaya Ross continued her terrific season with a two-run home run to make it 9-0. 

The Seminoles continued the scoring barrage in the third inning as Mudge drew a bases loaded walk to put the Noles up 10-0. FSU has now scored 10 or more runs seven times this season after accomplishing that feat just eight times in 69 games last season. 

Beachum and Harding each hit their third singles of the game to add two more runs for the Noles. Ross added one more run on a sacrifice fly to make the score 13-0. 

The Panthers once again threatened in the bottom of the third as they loaded the bases with just one out. Reid came up clutch with back-to-back strikeouts to keep off the Panthers off the board. 

Pitt was able to bring across four runs in the bottom of the fourth, but the Seminoles closed out the game in the fifth inning with three strikeouts. FSU had a season-high 10 strikeouts on the afternoon led by Reid with five. Mimi Gooden added four strikeouts, and Ashtyn Danley struck out the only batter she faced in the fifth. 

Offensively, Beachum had her best game of the season as she earned a season high for hits (4) and RBI (4). Harding also went 3-for-3 on the afternoon. 

The teams will wrap up the series Sunday with a doubleheader. The first game will begin at 1 p.m. and will not be streamed. The finale is set for 5 p.m. on the ACC Network.