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FSU Baseball brings home ACC Tournament title with extra innings win

By Jason Parker

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - AUGUST 4: Coach Mike Martin of the Florida State Seminoles throws out a ceremonial first pitch during pre-game ceremonies before play against the San Francisco Giants August 4, 2013 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays won 4 - 3. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - AUGUST 4: Coach Mike Martin of the Florida State Seminoles throws out a ceremonial first pitch during pre-game ceremonies before play against the San Francisco Giants August 4, 2013 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays won 4 - 3. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /
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FSU baseball needed more than just regulation time, but the Seminoles outlasted Louisville for their third tournament crown in the last 4 seasons.

For the FSU baseball team in recent seasons, the Seminoles have been going with the same storyline: have a regular season of ups and downs that include losses and slumps against teams they shouldn’t have lost to – only to come out like a wrecking ball toward the end and look like an amazing force in the ACC Tournament.

It was another replay of that during the 2018 season as the Noles put together four straight wins in Durham, North Carolina – including three straight against ranked teams – to bring home the tournament title for the third time in the last four seasons, while having played in all four contests.

The action started early on when the Seminoles got two runs in the first inning on a two RBI double by catcher Cal Raleigh while adding three runs in the third inning on RBI singles by Drew Mendoza and Rafael Bournigal along with Stephen Wells scoring on a wild pitch.

FSU baseball would fall behind in the fourth inning after the Cardinals put four runs on the board thanks to home runs. Down by three runs late, the Seminoles added one in the seventh and two in the eighth thanks to an RBI single by Bournigal – who later scored on an errant throw to third base by the Louisville pitcher.

For the seventh time this season, the Seminoles would play extra baseball – and just like last season, it was Mendoza coming up clutch with a two RBI double with the bases loaded to give the Seminoles the lead for good.

Reese Albert would add another run on a groundout and Jonah Scalaro got the win after pitching three innings of relief to give the Seminoles their eighth ACC Tournament title all time, putting them third in conference history behind Clemson (10) and Georgia Tech (9).

Cal Raleigh was named the tournament MVP while three teammates – Mendoza, Jackson Lueck and Drew Parrish – joined him on the all tournament team.

FSU baseball will almost certainly be a national seed when the NCAA announces the field for the NCAA tournament on Monday at 12 PM. The Seminoles, with three wins in Durham against ranked teams, now has the most wins against ranked foes of any team in the country.

The Noles will also find out for certain that they will be hosting the first round of the tournament when this sites are announced Sunday night.

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