Two grand slams by Duke send FSU baseball down to second place in ACC Championship finals
All it took was one swing, and the momentum changed for the worst for No. 5 Florida State baseball in the finale of the ACC Championship on Sunday at Truist Field.
No. 6 Duke Blue Devils took down the Seminoles 16-4 with two grand slams, clinching their second ACC title in program history and an automatic bid to the NCAA Baseball Tournament.
"Duke played a great game," FSU coach Link Jarrett said after the game. "You see the variety of arms and the talent they have on both sides of it, but it really started with the arms and just the variety and the lefties. We have similar stuff, and clearly, we did not execute today."
Things were looking up for the Seminoles after Cam Smith set the tone with a two-run homer in their opening inning. Duke answered back by producing five runs in the top second.
Duke took control when the bases were loaded and third baseman Ben Miller was at the plate. FSU, already on the ropes, Miller hit the Blue Devils' first grand slam in the fourth inning.
FSU was staring at the face of a potential run-rule following Duke's comfortable 9-2 lead.
Jaime Ferrer sparked the Seminoles with a two-run homer, trimming Duke's lead by five runs in the bottom fourth to keep the game going.
The Seminoles were shut out in the last five innings. Duke hit its second grand slam of the day in the sixth inning by centerfielder Devin Obee.
Creating more damage, Miller had one more home run left in the seventh inning. He finished the day with three hits, two home runs and six RBI.
Rough day on the mound for Florida State
Carson Dorsey started on the mound for the Seminoles but only lasted one inning after allowing three hits, four runs, and a walk.
“We just didn't sequence enough of anything, quite frankly," Jarrett said. "We were hoping Dorsey could get us through it for a while, and in his first inning, he looked good."
Jarrett leaned to his bullpen early after Dorsey's struggle on the mound. All seven pitchers were overwhelmed, allowing 16 hits, 16 runs, and six walks.
"We just could not stave off some of the good at-bats that they had," Jarrett said. "And we had sequences of walk, hit by pitch and some other things that seemed to give us problems in the early part of the ballgame, and they capitalized.”
What's next for Florida State baseball
While the Blue Devils will take home the ACC trophy, the Seminoles did enough to earn a top-eight national seed in the postseason, no matter the result of the championship game.
The NCAA will announce the regional host sites on Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. D1 Baseball had the Seminoles moving up to the seventh seed. FSU's RPI remained steadily at No. 8.
After missing the tournament last year, the Seminoles could return to Dick Howser Stadium and host regional for the first time in six years. The Selection Show will be on Monday at noon.
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Duke takes down Florida State to win ACC Championship, automatic bid
