RALEIGH, NC. (Seminoles.com) — Florida State hit four home runs Saturday, including two from catcher Mat Nelson, to win a back-and-forth affair at NC State 15-11 to close the regular season. Second baseman Jackson Greene continued to swing a hot bat, reaching base in all five plate appearances with three hits, two walks, his second home run in as many games and a career-high four runs batted in.
All ten Seminoles that had a plate appearance reached base at least once. The Noles drew nine walks and struck out just five times.
Nelson, the nation’s leader in home runs, had a career-high four hits and reached base five times. Nelson, Tyler Martin and Greene each scored three runs as the Noles erased a three-run deficit entering the seventh inning.
FSU scored 10 runs over the final four innings and held the Wolfpack off the board over the final three. Clayton Kwiatkowski (2-2) allowed two walks and no hits over the final two innings in the win. In total, FSU used seven pitchers.
Florida State’s 15 runs were a season high and helped overcome four errors in the field.
Starting pitcher Parker Messick allowed six runs in 4.2 innings, leaving after NC State hit back-to-back home runs to take a 6-5 lead. The Wolfpack pushed its lead to 11-8 with five runs in the sixth inning before the Noles scored the final seven runs in the game. FSU has won six consecutive Messick starts.
Nelson hit a two-run home run in the first inning for a 2-0 lead. Greene’s three-run home run gave FSU a 5-1 lead and Robby Martin added a solo home run in the seventh inning.
Nelson’s solo home run in the eighth inning tied the game before FSU scored four times in the ninth, including the go-ahead, game-winning RBI single from Logan Lacey. Lacey had three RBI on the day.
The ACC Championship will begin Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. Fifth-seed Florida State will be paired with No. 4 seed Miami and No. 9 seed Duke in a pod and the league will announce game days and times Sunday morning.
