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Florida State is headed to the semifinals in Omaha.
The Seminoles held on Tuesday afternoon to beat North Carolina 9-5 at Charles Schwab Field in Nebraska and keep their Men’s College World Series run alive. That officially eliminated the Tar Heels from the tournament.
The battle was the only one of the day on Tuesday, as the night game was postponed due to bad weather.
Key statistics
In the end it didn’t make a difference, but Vance Honeycutt hit another home run for North Carolina.
The Tar Heels star hit a three-run shot well to left field in the fifth inning to keep them in the final. It marked his sixth home run this postseason, the most by anyone in the postseason, and his fourth in his last five games. He is also responsible for more than a third of the runs they have scored.
Reflexes
He didn’t last long on the mound, but Matthew Mathijs threw an incredible pitch on Tuesday. Mathijs, despite a huge gust of wind that hit the park and took off his hat in the middle of the field, managed to take the shot without hesitation.
In fact, he didn’t even flinch. Just look:
That, however, came in the middle of a two-run inning by the Seminoles. After loading the bases, Florida State scored one after Jaime Ferrer walked and then Daniel Cantú hit a sacrifice fly to score one second before the end of the inning. That, after Drew Faurot’s RBI single in the second, gave them a 3-0 lead.
North Carolina got one back in the third after a big RBI double by Casey Cook.
Florida State, however, broke out in the fifth on RBI singles from Jaxson West and Max Williams to suddenly push Florida State’s lead to 7-1. They had six hits in the inning.
How about Jax & Max’s RBI singles to take advantage?
4 runs, 6 hits in the fifth as UNC returns to the pen
T5 | FSU 7, UNC 1 pic.twitter.com/P08iVkgcHO
– FSU Baseball (@FSUBaseball) June 18, 2024
After surviving Honeycutt’s push in the bottom of the fifth, the Seminoles loaded the bases in the sixth but failed to score anything. It wasn’t until Jax and Max hit back-to-back solo home runs to start the ninth inning that the Seminoles finally regained control of the game. That led them to a four-run victory and the semifinals.
What’s next for the state of Florida?
With its victory, Florida State will advance to the semifinals in Omaha. The Seminoles will face Tennessee next Wednesday afternoon. The Volunteers clinched their spot in the semifinals with a dominant 6-1 victory over North Carolina on Sunday. That marked the Tar Heels’ first loss in the tournament. Tennessee, which earned a one-run victory over Florida State in its first-round game, has yet to lose in Omaha.
Up next: Kentucky vs. Florida
No. 2 Kentucky and Florida were set to meet in the second game Tuesday night in Omaha, although that game was postponed to Wednesday due to weather. The winner of that contest will advance to the semifinals to face Texas A&M, which just won 5-1 over Kentucky on Monday night. Kentucky-Florida will open Wednesday at 10 a.m. local time in what will end up being a three-game day at Nebraska.