Florida State Seminoles baseball finish off home season with a win

Florida State (21-30, 7-20) relied on a solid start by Ben Barett to hold the opposition in check until their offense could get going. James Tibbs and Titan Kamaka led the charge, with Kamaka contributing five RBIs on two doubles and a sacrifice fly (going 2-for-4 on the night). The FSU offense also drew six walks and struck out eight times, consistently putting pressure on the pitchers from Kennesaw State.

Neither team managed to get a baserunner through the first two innings, but the Owls broke the deadlock in the third inning with a double down the line. They scored one batter later on an error. Kennesaw State threatened again in the inning with runners on second and third and just one out, but Barrett struck out a batter and induced a fly out to escape the jam. FSU had an opportunity to respond in the bottom of the third with a couple of singles, but a strikeout and fielder’s choice prevented them from capitalizing.

Kennesaw State extended their lead to 2-0 with a leadoff home run in the fourth inning. Once again, FSU had runners on base in the bottom half of the inning with a couple of one-out walks, but they couldn’t push a run across. However, in the third inning, the Seminoles finally broke through. Kamaka’s sacrifice fly brought home Jordan Williams, and Cam Smith singled to drive in Tibbs, tying the score at two.

From there, Florida State’s offense began to click. Tibbs and Kamaka delivered back-to-back doubles, plating three runs and giving FSU a 5-2 lead. Kennesaw State managed to score a run in the top of the eighth inning with a leadoff double, single, and a sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to 7-3. However, FSU responded in the bottom half of the inning. A couple of walks set the stage for Kamaka once again, and he delivered with a bloop double to right field, extending FSU’s lead to 7-3.

Despite allowing a number of extra-base hits, Florida State’s pitching staff (Ryan Denison, Brandon Oxford, and Doug Kirkland) performed well on the night. While three of Kennesaw State’s five hits went for extra bases and were involved in all of their runs, the FSU staff issued only three walks and struck out 13 batters. Each pitcher recorded more than one strikeout per inning, and despite two errors, it was difficult for the opposition to generate scoring opportunities.

Up Next: Florida State finishes its season with a three-game swing at Louisville with the first game set for Thursday at 7:00 PM.