After staging the greatest single-season turnaround in program history, the 2024 Florida State baseball team should not — and will not — be remembered for its College World Series-ending 7-2 loss on Wednesday.
Missed plays, poor at-bats, and downright bad luck contributed to Florida State's season's end, as the Seminoles fell once more to the No. 1 overall seed in the Tennessee Volunteers.
Early on, the sloppy play gave Tennessee a small lead before the bad luck put the nail in the coffin.
Florida State’s offense broke the record for most runs scored in the first three games in the College World Series by an ACC team, but today, the bats crashed down to Earth. Every hard-hit ball somehow went directly to an orange jersey, as the Seminoles could not buy a base hit. The struggles of Cam Smith and James Tibbs continued for the fourth straight game, and after a lineup that mashed the entire season, they put up their lowest run total since March.
Link Jarrett did not want to push Jamie Arnold and opted for a bullpen game instead. While John Abraham did not work out, veterans Brennen Oxford and Joe Charles provided their longest outings in their careers as they left everything they had on Charles Schwab Field. The defeat does not fall on the pitching staff against a Tennessee lineup that mashes like this one can.
With his back against the wall, Link Jarrett rolled the dice with freshman John Abraham to start the game. The righty had not pitched in Omaha yet, and last appeared in the Tallahassee regional, although he became one of the head coach’s most trusted arms down the stretch of the regular season.
It did not go as planned.
He started Babe Ruth, AKA Christian Moore, with a walk in five pitches before Daniel Cantu just missed a ground ball that allowed Tennessee to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Cam Smith bobbled a ground ball as a run scored along with the runner being safe at first. A liner and a walk brought in Brennen Oxford, as Abraham gave up more runs than outs recorded. Ox looked better, except for the miscommunication with Cantu, as his pick-off caused the 1B to whiff and score another Volunteer run.
Trailing 3-0, Florida State needed to respond like they have all season.
Zander Sechrist had their number all afternoon long.
Max Williams grounded out to start, but Smith reached on an error. Marco Dinges came up with two outs and belted a 403-foot 107 MPH line drive to center, ending the inning after Kavares Tears crashed into the wall.
Oxford looked to have settled the game down on the mound, setting down the first two batters of the second, but the Tennessee lineup obliterated the FSU pitching staff with two outs. Christian Moore lined a two-strike single to center before a balk put him on second. Blake Burke brought him in with an RBI knock, also down to his final strike, as the reliever did not have a put-away pitch.
Alex Lodise walked with two outs, bringing Drew Faurot up to bat down 4-0. The horrendous luck continued for Florida State as he reached first on an overthrow from the 2B, but as he rounded second, the ball bounced directly off the dug-out wall to the 1B, and Faurot ran into the third out on the bases. The play should not be blamed on Faurot, as I have never seen a ball bounce right back to the fielder on an error in any game this season.
Oxford sent Tennessee down in order in the third, the first 1-2-3 inning for Tennessee against FSU since the third inning on Friday, and it seemed like Florida State gained momentum. Jaxson West singled, Max Williams doubled, putting two runners in scoring position with nobody out, and Cam Smith and James Tibbs due up.
Inexplicably, the Seminoles did not score a run.
Smith hit a chopper to the short, and after West hesitated, the Noles competed another out on the basepaths, this time a tag at home. Then, James Tibbs grounded to first with the runners on the corners, and the inning ended on a 3-6 DP. Max Williams could have scored if he touched home before Smith’s tag out at second, but his lack of hustle kept a zero on the scoreboard.
With one out in the first, Oxford walked the nine-hole hitter, bringing up Moore. The two battled, but on a full count, the 2B laced his second triple of the CWS as another run came in. He sent down Burke on strikes, and Jarrett saw enough, bringing Joe Charles into the game. The fifth-year senior went 3 1⁄3 IP, 4 Ks, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 H, and kept Florida State in the game after the difficult start from Abraham.
Charles finished off the top half of the fourth, but the Seminoles went down 1-2-3 in the bottom half from the 4-5-6. Both teams were sent down in order during the fifth as the pitching started to take the game over.
In the sixth, Charles wrapped up the sixth with his seventh straight Volunteer sent down, as the top of the Seminole order came up. However, the bad luck continued. Besides Smith striking out looking, Williams and Dinges were sat down on balls that came off the bat over 100 MPH.
Tennessee tacked on another in the seventh as they finally figured out Charles, but they never broke the game open.
In the bottom half, FSU finally gave the incredible fan support something to cheer about.
Daniel Cantu rocketed a hanging breaking ball out to right before Lodise hit a 359-foot solo jack himself as Florida State went back-to-back for the second time in two days.
Charles held onto the rope to keep the game 6-2 for the top of the order. Moore came up with runners on the corners and two outs as the righty threw on fumes. He induced a ground out for the SEC triple-crown winner.
Williams led off the eighth with a single as Smith came up behind him. The 3B smashed a line drive, but the ball bounced the Volunteer's way like everything today. It hit off the pitcher's glove and then calmly rolled to Moore. He stepped on second and fired to first. Tibbs struck out to end the frame as the 1-2-3 went down in order when Jarrett needed them most.
Conner Whittaker entered for Charles, who allowed one run in 4 1⁄3 IP, which was an incredible effort from the transfer reliever. Whittaker gave up a lead-off HR to Burke but sent down the next three batters.
Dinges reached base with a single off the pitcher, putting the lead-off man down 7-2. Jamie Ferrer went down swinging and smashed his batting helmet in the dugout after his at-bat.
It was that type of day for everyone wearing garnet and gold.
Fittingly, Lodise lined out to short as the 27th out of the game. Florida State left everything they had in Omaha, but today was not their day.
FSU came into the season at +10000 odds to win the national championship and finished in the final four of the sport. They hung with Tennessee for two straight games and may rue their missed opportunities, but the better team advanced at the end of the day. Ultimately, Florida State ran into a buzzsaw, and their best opportunity to take down the Volunteers came last Friday. However, even with a playing field littered with missed opportunities and “what ifs?,” this group should be remembered for what they did in Omaha, not how it ended.
