Seminoles drop opener at Wake Forest despite 12 Ks from Jamie Arnold

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Despite a career-high 12 strikeouts from Jamie Arnold, the No. 8 Florida State baseball team fell 5-4 Friday evening at No. 12 Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons scored a pair of runs in the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie.

Arnold struck out 12 batters in 5.2 innings, matching his career-high strikeouts from earlier this season vs. Notre Dame. Wake Forest countered with Chase Burns, a projected top pick in this summer’s MLB Draft, who struck out eight batters in a season-low 5.0 innings. Both pitchers allowed three runs.

Max Williams was 3-for-5 for Florida State, his fifth consecutive multi-hit game, including a leadoff home run off Burns on the second pitch of the game. Cam Smith and Daniel Cantu added two hits for the Seminoles.

Tied 1-1 in the fifth inning, Jaxson West gave FSU the lead with a sacrifice fly, followed by Marco Dinges’ RBI single. Dinges added an RBI groundout in the ninth after Wake scored a pair of runs in the eighth inning, but Cole Roland earned his first save of the year with a strikeout to end the contest with Jordan Williams standing on second base.

OF NOTE:

Max Williams hit a 400-foot home run on the second pitch of the game, his sixth of the season. It was FSU’s first leadoff home run of the season.

Williams extended his hitting streak to eight games and his on-base streak to 10 games, both career highs. Williams was 3-for-5, his fifth straight multi-hit game. He has seven hits over his last two games.

Florida State has hit a home run in 33 of 37 games in 2024, including 12 consecutive.

Cam Smith was 2-for-5 with a run scored, extending his on-base streak to 47 games, the 14th-longest streak in Florida State history. Smith is hitting .410 on the season and has multiple hits in six consecutive games; Smith leads FSU with 22 multi-hit games this year.

Jaime Ferrer was 1-for-4 and was hit by a pitch. Ferrer leads FSU with 13 HBP on the season and 42 for his career, the fifth-most in Florida State history.

James Tibbs was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored. Tibbs leads Florida State with a .411 batting average. Tibbs and Smith are the only Power 5 teammates batting over .400 this season.

Starting pitcher Jamie Arnold tied a career high with 12 strikeouts. His previous 12-strikeout performance also came in just 5.2 innings pitched.

Tibbs, Ferrer and Daniel Cantu stole bases for FSU. For the season, FSU is 44-for-48 on the basepaths. Cantu’s stolen base was his first of the season.

Wake Forest starting pitcher Chase Burns had allowed four stolen bases on the season before Friday; all three of FSU’s swipes were off Burns.

Cantu was 2-for-5 with a double and his first stolen base. Cantu’s 12 doubles are third on the team, behind Drew Faurot (15) and James Tibbs (14).

UP NEXT:

Florida State and Wake Forest will play game two of the series Saturday at 4 p.m. at David F. Couch Ballpark. LHP Carson Dorsey will make his third start of the season for the Noles.

*Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State baseball fans in the FSU Baseball Forum*

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