Late-inning power surge ignites Florida State's offense, securing a dominant sweep and showcasing a potent extra-base hit attack against Notre Dame.
Florida State right fielder Brody Delamielleure went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a two-run homer to lead the Seminoles to a 6-4 victory over Notre Dame in Game 3 of their ACC series.
The win Sunday in Tallahassee gave No. 8 Florida State a sweep of the Fighting Irish and its 12th conference victory.
Florida State (28-11, 12-6 ACC) collected 11 hits against Notre Dame (17-18, 7-14), including seven for extra bases. In the weekend series, the Seminoles logged 34 hits against Irish pitching.
Notre Dame led 4-2 going into the seventh inning, then Florida State erupted for four runs in the bottom of the seventh, all on extra base hits: a triple by designated hitter Nathan Cmeyla, and doubles by center fielder Brayden Dowd and left fielder Chase Williams.
The extra base hits and aggressive base running were catalysts for the sweeping victory, and it was a complete reversal of the Noles' previous performances in ACC play against Georgia Tech. In the series with the Yellow Jackets, Florida State scored just nine runs on 20 hits. It was a much-improved offense this weekend, as FSU outscored the Irish 26-11.
Florida State coach Link Jarrett, speaking to media at his postgame press conference, commented when asked how pleased he was on his team’s ability to get extra base hits, “Huge, massive. You have to have it against good teams. Good teams don't make enough mistakes to count on freebies or defensive miscues giving you opportunities to score. So, the extra base hit of every form helped us today a lot.”
The Seminoles pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts on the day. Brodie Purcell and Chris Knier came on in relief, and Purcell earned his third win (3-0) of the season, and Knier notched his third save.
Florida State now boasts a 20-3 record at home. The Seminoles will hit the road for the next four games beginning on Tuesday with a game against North Florida in Jacksonville, and then an ACC series at Stanford.
The Ospreys of North Florida (23-16, 14-4 in ASUN) remain in first place in the Graphite Division of the ASUN Conference, despite a 7-3 loss to Stetson on Sunday. As a team, North Florida is batting .261. The Osprey pitching staff leads the conference with a 4.73 ERA and allows a .247 batting average.
It will be the second meeting of the season between these two teams. On Feb. 25, Florida State won the first meeting 14-9 in Tallahassee on the strength of a home run by first baseman Myles Bailey and doubles by DH Noah Sheffield, right fielder Kelvyn Paulino and shortstop Cal Fisher.
How to Watch
Date: Tuesday, April 21
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Location: Harmon Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 100.7 FM WFLA
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