TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In a thrilling matchup, Florida State defeated Mississippi State 10-3 on Saturday night to secure a spot in the Tallahassee Regional championship game. Dominating the contest, Myles Bailey hit a grand slam, while Drew Faurot contributed significantly with two home runs.
Faurot began the scoring with a two-run homer in the second inning, setting an early tone for the Seminoles. By the fourth inning, with Florida State holding a slim 2-1 lead, their offense erupted for five more runs. Gage Harrelson began the barrage with an RBI single, and with the bases loaded, Bailey smashed an 0-1 pitch into left field for his 18th home run this season.
In response, Mississippi State managed to narrow the gap in the same inning as Hunter Hines launched a homer, his contribution in a three-hit effort. Their only other score came from Noah Sullivan, who also homered.
The scoreboard remained fixed at 7-3 until the ninth inning when the Seminoles widened the lead. Faurot hit his second homer of the game — equaling his season’s 18th — followed by run-scoring hits from Alex Lodise and Max Williams.
As the No. 1 seed in the regional, Florida State advances to the championship and is now just a victory away from the super regionals. They are set to face the winner of the elimination game between No. 3 Mississippi State and No. 2 Northeastern, who sent Bethune-Cookman packing earlier on Saturday.
Seminoles’ pitcher Jamie Arnold improved to an 8-2 record, surrendering three runs on five hits while striking out an impressive 12 batters. Reliever Joe Charles also excelled, striking out three opponents over two innings without allowing a single base runner.
On the other hand, Pico Kohn from Mississippi State faced a rough outing, allowing seven runs over 3 2/3 innings, despite recording seven strikeouts. The game featured a total of 32 strikeouts, marking it as a pitcher-dominated battle.