FSU baseball: Late offense powers Noles past Clemson Tigers

FSU baseball (27-18, 18-13 ACC) used quality pitching and a late offensive burst to power past Clemson 8-3 in the series opener Friday night in Tallahassee.

The usual second-day starter Bryce Hubbart got the start for the Noles and went six innings while allowing one earned run that came in the top of the first inning. He scattered four hits while striking out seven and walking two.

Jack Anderson pitched the final two frames and retired the final six batters after Chase Haney got knocked around for two earned runs in one-third of an inning.

The FSU offense didn’t get going until the bottom of the third inning when Logan Lacey laced a two-out RBI double to put the Noles up 2-1. Robby Martin followed that with a frozen rope single to centerfield to score Lacey.

Nicco Baldor came through with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to extend the lead to 4-1. That run was big because Chase Haney gave up a two-run bomb which cut the lead to 4-3 in the top of the seventh.

FSU baseball erupted for four runs in the bottom of the eighth, which began on a Nicco Baldor single with one out. Nander De Sedas doubled, Tyler Martin walked, and Baldor scored on a past ball before Logan Lacey connected on his second double of the night for two RBI’s.

Matheu Nelson connected for a double to score Lacey, which made the score 8-3. FSU had eight hits(four doubles), eight walks, two hit batters, and 14 strikeouts. FSU pitchers had 11 strikeouts and two walks, and one hit batter.

Lacey and Baldor each had two hits, with Lacey driving in three runs. Every FSU starter reached base safely between hits and walks, which ultimately was the undoing for Clemson, along with two errors.

The Noles finished the game with a clean slate defensively but did make some mistakes on the base paths mentally.

The Noles will entertain the Tigers Saturday with the first pitch at 2 p.m. ET on the ACC Network Extra.