Seminole Sunday Sauce — June 23, 2024: FSU Baseball Finishes as National Semifinalists
Florida State baseball’s season came to an end this week, but the Seminoles made plenty of noise during their stay in Omaha.
After opening the College World Series with a heartbreaking 12-11 loss to Tennessee, No. 8 FSU bounced back by eliminating a pair of ACC foes. The Seminoles topped Virginia in an elimination game on Sunday 7-3 before doing likewise to North Carolina two days later, 9-5.
Against the 12th-ranked Cavaliers on Sunday, the Seminoles got another quality start from Carson Dorsey, who tossed seven strong innings. At the plate, the story was Jaime Ferrer. After homering against Tennessee in the CWS opener, Ferrer left the yard twice against Virginia, including a 3-run blast in the fifth that doubled the FSU lead to 6-0. Alex Lodise also homered in the victory.
On Tuesday, FSU blew things open against the Tar Heels with a 4-run fifth inning to push the lead to 7-1. No. 4 North Carolina answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning, but Connor Hults was able to quiet the bats over 4.1 shutout innings of relief to pick up the win. FSU added two insurance runs in the ninth on back-to-back home runs from Jaxson West and Max Williams.
West (4) and Williams (3) combined for seven of the 14 FSU hits in the victory. Each, along with first baseman Daniel Cantu, drove in two runs.
Unfortunately for FSU, self-inflicted wounds on the field and on the bases were too much to overcome against Tennessee on Wednesday. The top-ranked Volunteers advanced to the championship series with a 7-2 win over the Seminoles.
Despite hitting the ball hard for most of the day, FSU’s only runs came in the seventh inning on back-to-back home runs from Cantu and Lodise. FSU finishes the season with a 49-17 record and multiple wins at the College World Series for the first time since 2012. The 49 wins is also the most for the Seminoles in 12 years.
FOOTBALL
Recognitions: None
Commitments: Brady Smigiel, 4-star 2026 QB* (No. 53 overall*)
Decommitments: None
2025 Recruiting Class Rank: No. 67 nationally, 17th in ACC (4 total commitments)
Wrap-up: It was a big recruiting weekend for FSU.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Recognitions: None
Commitments: Dwayne Wimbley Jr.#, 3-star F* (No. 211 overall*)
Decommitments: None
2025 Recruiting Class Rank: No. 5 nationally, second in ACC (2 total commitments)
Wrap-up: FSU learned this week that it will play LSU in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Baseball
Record: 49-17
Ranking: No. 12 Baseball America; No. 7 NCBWA; No. 8 USA Today Coaches; No. 9 D1Baseball; No. 8 seed NCAA Tournament
Past Week: (2-1), beat Virginia in College World Series on Sunday, 7-3; beat North Carolina in College World Series on Tuesday, 9-5; lost to Tennessee in College World Series on Wednesday, 7-2
Recognitions: James Tibbs III, OF (ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, ACC All-Academic); Daniel Cantu, 1B (ACC All-Academic); Jaime Ferrer, OF (ACC All-Academic); Alex Lodise, SS (ACC All-Academic); Cal Fisher, IF (ACC All-Academic); Connor Hults, P (ACC All-Academic); Brady Louck, P (ACC All-Academic); Brennen Oxford, P (ACC All-Academic); DeAmez Ross, OF (ACC All-Academic); Noah Short, P (ACC All-Academic); Max Williams, OF (ACC All-Academic); Cam Sith, 3B (ACC All-Academic); Conner Whittaker, P (ACC All-Academic)
Wrap-up: A stellar season for FSU came to a close this week with a second loss to Tennessee in Omaha.
*Recruiting rankings according to the 247Sports Composite rankings
#Wimbley was inadvertently left off last week’s Seminole Sunday Sauce
- 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.
