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“We’re goin’ back!” Those famous words are forever etched on the hearts of Seminole fans. Famously spoken by legendary coach Mike Martin during a passionate postgame speech in his final season, it symbolizes how special it is to make it to Omaha. While not unfamiliar territory for the Seminoles who have made 23 College World Series appearances, it has been an elusive feat the past few seasons.
That all changed on Saturday afternoon when FSU outlasted the UConn Huskies to advance to Omaha for the first time in 5 years. The Noles began the postseason with a 3-0 sweep of the Tallahassee regional. Then, in the first Super Regional hosted inside Dick Howser Stadium since 2017, Florida State came out with a vengeance. The Seminoles dismantled UConn by a score of 24-4, setting a record for the most runs scored and the largest margin of victory ever in a Super Regional.
Game two was a different story. UConn pushed the Seminoles to extra innings but couldn’t hold on to force a game 3. In the regional, we had a “Carson Dorsey game” and a “Jamie Arnold game” where dominant pitching led FSU to victory. This will forever be the “James Tibbs game” after the ACC Player of the Year put on an offensive fireworks show!
“Mr. Tibbs,” as he’s known to FSU faithful, may have been in a slump throughout the beginning of the postseason, but boy did he deliver when his team needed it most. Tibbs went 5 of 6 at the plate with 3 two-run home runs driving in 6 total RBI! The Noles hit 6 home runs on the day, and 11 total in the Super Regional. FSU’s offense showed why it is one of the best in the country in a game against a defensive team that had just held Duke and Oklahoma to one run three separate times in the Norman regional.
𝗪𝗘'𝗥𝗘 𝗚𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞! pic.twitter.com/Ip93RkYmZm
— FSU Baseball (@FSUBaseball) June 8, 2024
FSU had several players step up to make big plays in the Super Regional. Max Williams and Marco Dinges each hit a home run in both games. Jaime Ferrer hit two in Friday’s slugfest, and Jackson West had a crucial home run late in Saturday’s game, keeping the Noles in the fight. Defensively, Alex Lodise made some big league plays and veteran pitcher Conner Whittaker was clutch on the mound to seal the trip to Omaha. It was clear that Link wanted to end the series on Saturday when he inserted Whittaker, who would typically be the Sunday starter, into the lineup. Whittaker gave the Noles 3 and 2/3 innings, only allowing one hit, no runs, and landing a few big strikeouts.
They will need to combine that firepower with the type of pitching performances we saw from Dorsey, Arnold, and Whittaker as their toughest test of the season awaits them in Omaha. FSU will face the winner of number one seed Tennessee and the Cinderella story Evansville Aces who play to decide a winner on Sunday.
This has undoubtedly become one of the biggest turnarounds in college baseball as the Noles went from 23 wins and dead last in the ACC a year ago to making their 24th College World Series appearance with a 47-15 record. Notably, FSU finished with a record of 31-4 inside Dick Howser Stadium.
It was a rewarding home season for a fanbase that deserved every bit of it. Seminole fans sold out multiple games throughout the regular season, the postseason and it took all of 5 minutes for the Super Regional series to sell out. Howser was frequently a sight to be seen, largely thanks to the infamous Animals of Section B. The raucous group of fans help create one of the best home environments in all of college baseball. So much so that UConn head coach Jim Penders said after the series that, at times, he thought they were across the street at Doak Campbell Stadium!
The work is far from finished, but it’s obvious that head coach Link Jarrett has something special going on in Tallahassee. Hopefully, the Seminoles can channel a little more Mike Martin magic as they travel to Omaha to try and bring home the program’s first national championship. The College World Series begins on Friday, June 14th. Stay tuned to Plant The Spear for more FSU coverage. Thanks for reading and Go Noles!!
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