In what likely will be his final game at Dick Howser Stadium, Florida State slugger James Tibbs III saved his best for last.
The Seminoles’ star junior right-fielder belted three two-run home runs Saturday — including the winning slam in the 12th inning — and went 5-for-6 on a day when the Seminoles needed every one of those hits to fight off a scrappy UConn team that was one of the darlings of the 2024 postseason.
In the end, it was just enough — barely — to give Florida State a 10-8 victory and propel the Seminoles back to the College World Series in Omaha. The Seminoles won the first game of the Super Regional on Friday, 24-4.
It will be FSU’s first CWS appearance since 2019 and the first under second-year head coach Link Jarrett.
And the Seminoles had to sweat it out
Tibbs’ first two-run home run, in the third inning, erased an early 2-0 deficit. Then he hit another two-run shot in the fifth to give the Seminoles a 4-2 advantage.
Marco Dinges then followed that up with a solo shot, but the Huskies came storming right back with a two-run homer from third baseman Luke Broadhurst in the bottom half of the fifth.
Florida State extended its lead to 6-4 on a solo home run from center fielder Max Williams, but UConn came charging back again. This time, Broadhurst hit a three-run triple off the wall in center field to give the Huskies a 7-6 advantage after six.
FSU catcher Jaxson West tied things up with a solo home run in the eighth, then Drew Faurot gave the Seminoles a one-run lead with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth.
Florida State’s bullpen could not close things out, however, as UConn pinch hitter Matt Malcolm lifted a solo home run off the light pole in right-center field to tie it at 8-8.
The game would stay deadlocked for the next three innings until Tibbs gave FSU its final runs.
Florida State also got a brilliant relief performance from junior righty Conner Whittaker, who pitched a scoreless 3 2/3 innings to end the game.
FSU ace Jamie Arnold pitched well, but numerous scrappy at-bats by UConn forced his pitch count up. He needed 121 pitches just to get through 5 1/3 innings. Arnold struck out nine batters, but allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits.
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The post Back to Omaha! James Tibbs powers FSU past UConn, back to College World Series appeared first on On3.
