Seminole Sunday Sauce — Feb. 18, 2024: FSU Baseball Opens Season with 11-0 Shutout of Butler
The 2023 season was one to forget for Florida State baseball, but to open 2024, the Seminoles did all they could to get the bad taste of last season out of their mouths. FSU rolled on Friday night at Dick Howser Stadium to an 11-0 victory over Butler.
Starting pitcher Cam Leiter was the story. The right-hander allowed just one hit in five shutout innings while striking out 13 Bulldogs. Carson Dorsey, Hudson Rowan and Matt Sauser didn’t disappoint out of the bullpen.
As good as the pitching was, there was also plenty of offense. James Tibbs began to turn the game into a rout with a grand slam in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 7-0. Max Williams and Cal Fisher also homered in the victory.
DeAmez Ross continued to be the table setter, finishing 2-for-4 with three runs scored at the top of the order. Marco Dinges went 3-for-3 and reached base four times.
Saturday’s contest was canceled as a result of bad weather, but the Seminoles will go for the mini sweep of Butler on Sunday. FSU hits the road for the first time in head coach Link Jarrett’s second season on Tuesday night at Jacksonville.
FOOTBALL
Record: 13-1
Ranking: No. 6 AP Poll; No. 6 USA Today Coaches Poll
Recognitions: None
Commitments: None
Decommitments: None
2025 Recruiting Class Rank: No. 14 nationally, second in ACC (4 total commitments)
Wrap-up: FSU will have 12 players at the NFL Combine.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Record: 13-12 (7-7 ACC)
Ranking: N/A
Past Week: (0-2), lost to Virginia Tech on Tuesday, 83-75; lost to Duke on Saturday, 76-67
Upcoming: vs. Boston College (Tuesday); at Clemson (Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Commitments: None
Decommitments: None
2024 Recruiting Class Rank: No. 87 nationally, 15th in ACC (1 total commitment)
Wrap-up: It was a rough week for FSU, but the Seminoles have a manageable final stretch to try to grab an NIT bid.
Swimming and Diving
Ranking: Men No. 16 CSCAA; women N/A
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: ACC Championships (Tuesday-Feb. 25)
Recognitions: Samantha Vear (ACC Women’s Diver of the Week); David Vargas (ACC Men’s Diver of the Week); Peter Varjasi (ACC Men’s Swimmer of the Week)
Wrap-up: FSU’s swimming and diving teams will chase a title this week.
Women’s Basketball
Record: 18-8 (8-5 ACC)
Ranking: N/A
Past Week: (1-1), lost to Notre Dame on Sunday in double overtime; beat Wake Forest on Thursday, 71-63
Upcoming: at Miami (Sunday); vs. Boston College (Thursday)
Recognitions: Ta’Niya Latson, G (Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Team)
Wrap-up: A heartbreaking loss to Notre Dame may have killed FSU’s hopes for a double bye in the ACC Tournament, but the Seminoles are well on their way to the NCAA Tournament.
Men’s Tennis
Record: 7-2 (1-0 ACC)
Ranking: No. 22 ITA
Past Week: (2-0), beat Oklahoma on Sunday, 5-2; beat Boston College on Wednesday, 7-0
Upcoming: vs. Georgia State (Friday)
Recognitions: None
Wrap-up: After a solid home win over Oklahoma, FSU kicked off ACC play with a road sweep of Boston College.
Women’s Tennis
Record: 4-2
Ranking: N/A
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: vs. Tennessee (Sunday); vs. North Carolina (Friday)
Recognitions: Laura Putz (ACC Freshman of the Week)
Wrap-up: After a week off, FSU will have two very difficult matches.
Track and Field
Ranking: Men No. 8 USTFCCCA, No. 3 South Region; women No. 7 South Region
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: ACC Indoor Championships (Thursday-Saturday)
Recognitions: Jeremiah Davis (ACC Men's Field Athlete of the Week); Dejaz DeFrand (ACC Women’s Performer of the Week)
Wrap-up: After an idle week, FSU will chase an indoor ACC title.
Men’s Golf
Ranking: No. 12 GCAA Coaches Poll
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: Watersound Invitational (Monday-Wednesday)
Recognitions: None
Wrap-up: FSU will wrap up its February slate in its home state.
Women’s Golf
Ranking: No. 10 WGCAA Coaches Poll
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: Moon Invitational (Sunday-Tuesday)
Recognitions: None
Wrap-up: FSU heads to Melbourne in search of a second straight tournament win.
Softball
Record: 5-3
Ranking: No. 7 Softball America; No. 5 USA Softball; No. 8 D1Softball; No. 7 USA TODAY/NFCA Coaches Poll
Past Week: (2-2), beat Florida A&M in JoAnne Graf Classic on Sunday, 8-2; beat Stanford in Clearwater Invitational, 4-0; lost to UCLA in Clearwater Invitational on Friday, 14-10; lost to Georgia in Clearwater Invitational on Saturday, 20-10
Upcoming: vs. Tennessee (Sunday, Clearwater Invitational); vs. Florida International (Thursday, Dugout Club Classic); vs. Florida International (Friday, Dugout Club Classic); vs. Nicholls (Friday, Dugout Club Classic); vs. Nicholls (Saturday, Dugout Club Classic); vs. Charleston Southern (Saturday, Dugout Club Classic)
Recognitions: None
Wrap-up: After starting its stay in Clearwater with a win, FSU has struggled to get outs.
Baseball
Record: 1-0
Ranking: N/A
Past Week: (1-0), beat Butler on Friday, 11-0
Upcoming: vs. Butler (Sunday); at Jacksonville (Tuesday); vs. Western Carolina (Friday); vs. Western Carolina (Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Wrap-up: FSU opened the year with a feel-good win on Friday night. Saturday’s game was canceled.
Beach Volleyball
Record: 0-0
Ranking: N/A
Upcoming: at Jacksonville (Dolphin Duels, Feb. 23)
Recognitions: None
Wrap-up: The wait is over. Beach volleyball season gets underway this week.
*Recruiting rankings according to the 247Sports Composite rankings
- Mike Ferguson is the lead writer for Double Fries No Slaw. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. For all of his work, “Like” or “Follow” Mike on Facebook.
