Henry: FSU baseball deserves to celebrate its win over No. 1 Wake Forest at Howser Stadium
Florida State baseball deserved to win Sunday.
It deserved to feel good, high-five and celebrate a 4-3 walk-off victory over top-ranked Wake Forest at Howser Stadium.
“Beyond deserved to win,” said Chris Chavez, the former FSU All-American pitcher who served as color commentator on the ACC Network Extra broadcast Sunday.
Redshirt sophomore Jordan Williams, a left-handed batter who had three hits on the season − all on the road − and was hitting .111, stroked a game-winning, two-out single to left-center field to score Nander De Sedas from second base without a throw.
The Seminoles (20-30) rallied from a 3-0 deficit after six innings with three runs in the seventh and Williams’ fourth RBI of the season in the ninth to avoid the weekend sweep.
Williams, with arms outstretched, circled around second base towards centerfield, high-stepping with his celebrating teammates in pursuit.
It was a dramatic, fun win that can boost confidence and, at least for the afternoon, push aside the season’s frustrations and losing record.
“It was great to see Link (Jarrett, coach) smiling. The excitement you got to see from players. I was super proud of them," Chavez said.
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Finally, the magic returns to Howser Stadium
While FSU has been mathematically eliminated from the ACC Tournament and will fail to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in forever, the Seminoles must continue to build for the future. Many expect coach Link Jarrett to flip his roster this off-season, focusing on pitching and offense.
Still, despite this team's deficiencies, injuries and youth, it's nice to see its spirit and fight haven't waned.
"As painful as it has been to watch the team struggle, the fight in this team has been very admirable," said former FSU infielder Jack Niles, a close friend/teammate of Jarrett's. "It's a good sign of what's to come."
Freshman lefty Jamie Arnold set the tone Sunday, pitching a career-high 5.1 innings with six strikeouts. Workhorse junior lefty Andrew Armstrong pitched 2.1 innings with four strikeouts and just one hit, while ever-improving redshirt junior Doug Kirkland, a former catcher who also missed the past two seasons due to injury, improved to 3-3 on the year.
The right-hander notched the final two outs in the top of the ninth - and stranded the go-ahead run on third base. Freshman third baseman Cam Smith ranged to his far left in front of shortstop Jordan Carrion to field a chopper and throw out Marrek Houston at first base for the third out.
"The game goes to show you how far they've come despite injuries and all the freshman they have," Chavez said. "We know this coaching staff and what they bring (to program). There's going to be a lot of new faces (next season), but this win is something for players to build on.
"The future is bright."
FSU's offense comes to life in the nick of time
After held hitless through six innings and trailing 3-0, FSU's offense came to life in the seventh.
The Seminoles tied the game against the Wake bullpen with two walks, an RBI double from Colton Vincent, an RBI single from Jordan Carrion and a game-tying sacrifice fly from McGwire Holbrook.
Carrion tied a career-high with his third walk in the ninth inning. He was thrown out trying to reach third on De Sedas’s single, but the throw allowed De Sedas to get to second base and score on Williams’ hit into the left-centerfield gap
It was FSU’s fourth walk-off win of the year. And the three-run deficit was FSU’s largest overcome in a victory this season.
The Seminoles had every reason to celebrate.
They deserved to win.
"I'm very proud of the fight of the guys. We've seen that all year," Jarrett said.
"It came down to J-Will and we're aware of who stick at it in that cage and that guy's down there every day grinding it out. I'm happy he had that moment...It hasn't really clicked for him. He hasn't had a lot of good opportunities and he had a good, simple stroke at that.
"I'm proud of the way the guys stuck at it."
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU baseball doesn't back down, rallies to beat No. 1 Wake Forest
