TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — James Tibbs III hit his third home run of the game, a two-run shot in the top of the 12th inning, and Florida State defeated UConn 10-8 on Saturday, sweeping the Tallahassee Regional for a berth in the College World Series.
After Max Williams led off the 12th with a single and Cam Smith flied out, Tibbs drove a 1-0 pitch deep over the fence in right field for the go-ahead runs. In the bottom of the inning, Conner Whittaker allowed a two-out single but struck out Paul Tammaro to end it and send the eighth-seeded Seminoles to Omaha, Neb., for the 24th time. They have never won the national championship.
Tibbs’ dramatic home run was his third two-run shot of the game. It was his 31st home run of the season and his 100 RBI are tied for first in the nation. He went 5-for-6 with six RBI on Saturday. Williams had three hits and scored twice.
In the top of the ninth, Florida State (47-15) loaded the bases on a walk, a single and an error. Then Drew Faurot lifted a fly to left field and Jordan Williams scored from third. The next two batters flied out to end the inning.
UConn’s Matt Malcolm tied it with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth.
Connecticut (35-26) loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth inning. Luke Broadhurst laced a double to center field, scoring three runs and giving the Huskies a 7-6 lead. Earlier, he had an RBI-single in the first inning and a two-run home run in the fifth. He finished 4-for-5 with six RBI.
In the top of the eighth, Jaxson West tied it up with a leadoff home run to right field.
There were eight home runs in the game, six by Florida State.
In Game 1 of the matchup on Friday, FSU set NCAA super-regional records for the most runs scored in a game and largest margin of victory in a 24-4 victory. Jaime Ferrer hit two of Florida State’s five home runs, and Tibbs III and Marco Dinges each added four RBIs. The Seminoles drew 15 walks and struck out just once. Five of their 18 hits were homers, including two-out shots by Dinges and Williams. Smith and Tibbs each drew two-out, bases-loaded walks in the third inning for an 8-0 lead.
Caglianone’s 32nd HR helps Florida beat host Clemson 10-7 in Game 1
CLEMSON, S.C. — Jac Caglianone hit his 32nd home run of the season to spark Florida’s seven-run fifth inning, and the Gators beat Clemson 10-7 on Saturday to win Game 1 of the best-of-three Clemson Super Regional.
Florida (33-28) can clinch a berth in the College World Series with a win in Game 2 on Sunday.
Caglianone, a former standout at Tampa’s Plant High, hit an 0-1 pitch over the wall in left field for a three-run home run to give the Gators the lead for good before Michael Robertson’s RBI single capped the explosion and made it 9-4 in the top of the fifth.
Tristan Bissetta hit a solo shot for Clemson (44-15) in the home half of the inning, and Jarren Purify scored on a sacrifice fly before a groundout by Blake Wright drove in Alden Mathes in the bottom of the sixth to pull the Tigers within 9-7.
Caglianone, a projected top-10 pick in the upcoming MLB draft, finished 2-for-4 with a walk. Dale Thomas went 2-for-5 with an RBI, and Tyler Shelnut hit a solo homer for Florida.
Jimmy Obertop drew a two-out walk to load the bases before and advanced to second, while Mathes scored on a wild pitch. Bissetta walked to again load the bases, and Jack Crighton took four consecutive balls to get Wright home and give Clemson a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
Purify led off the second inning with a triple and scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0, and after Ashton Wilson’s sacrifice fly drove in Cade Kurland to get Florida on the scoreboard in the top of the third, Obertop led off the home half of the inning with a homer to make it 4-1.
Mathes finished 3-for 5-with two runs for the Tigers.
Brandon Neely came on in the sixth and pitched four scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out seven for Florida to earn his fourth save of the season.
Associated Press
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