FSU baseball: James Tibbs leads Noles past Jacksonville Dolphins

FSU baseball (23-4, 5-4 ACC) defeated the Jacksonville Dolphins for the second time this season with a 5-3 win on Tuesday night. The win matches the FSU win total for the entire 2023 season and takes the season series over a scrappy Jacksonville team. The Noles got on the board first in the bottom of the third on a groundout by Cam Smith to score Matthew Holbrook. The Dolphins tied the game 1-1 in the next inning, and FSU wasted two major scoring opportunities with runners on third with no outs and didn't push a run across. However, James Tibbs took care of the scoring with a two-run opposite-field home run in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 3-1 lead. Jacksonville wouldn't go quietly as they answered with another run in the top of the seventh.

However, Cal Fisher and Tibbs hit doubles to score two more runs in the bottom of the frame for some insurance runs. Brady Louck got the start for the Noles on the mound and went 3.2 innings, allowing one hit, one unearned run, one walk, and six strikeouts. Andrew Armstrong pitched a strong 2.1 innings, getting out of a jam with a runner on third with less than two outs and not allowing a run. He walked one batter and struck out two. Brennan Oxford pitched a scoreless inning, and Carson Dorsey got some demons off his back by getting out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs and only allowing one run (not charged to him). Dorsey pitched two innings and allowed one hit, two walks and two strikeouts. Dorsey made the ninth inning interesting by walking two batters, but escaped with no runs allowed to get the save. James Tibbs led FSU batters, going 3-4 with three RBI. It was a solid win for the Noles without doing too much damage to the bullpen depth, considering they have four more games this week. The Noles will play Wednesday evening as they host Bethune Cookman at 6 p.m.