TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Carson Dorsey allowed two runs, one earned, and struck out seven over 8-2/3 innings to lead host Florida State to a 7-2 victory over Stetson on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional Baseball Tournament.
The Seminoles (43-15), seeded No. 8 nationally, move on to face the UCF on Saturday.
Dorsey (6-4) scattered nine hits and walked only one. The junior college transfer barely missed pitching his first complete game, exiting after a single and Florida State error in the ninth.
Stetson (40-21), which won the ASun Conference Tournament, got a runner to third before reliever Brennen Oxford struck out Yohann Dessureault to end the game.
Florida State added to what was already the largest turnaround in the nation, winning 20 more games than last season.
The Seminoles jumped out with solo homers in the first two innings from Daniel Cantu and Max Williams, who opened with a leadoff shot over the right-field fence in the bottom of the first.
Marco Dinges went 2-for-4 with a walk, and Jaime Ferrer also had two hits for the Seminoles. James Tibbs III drew four walks and scored three runs.
Sundean’s pinch-hit RBI in 9th lifts UCF over Alabama
Pinch-hitter Andrew Sundean’s two-out, RBI single in the ninth inning broke a 7-all tie and sent second-seeded UCF to an 8-7 victory over No. 3-seeded Alabama in the Tallahassee Regional at the NCAA Tournament. Jack Zyska led the inning off with a walk and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Danny Neri. After Alabama reliever Alton Davis II got the second out on a fly ball, Sundean sent a single to left to bring home Zyska with the winning run.
Alabama (33-24) got a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth. But UCF reliever Kris Sosnoski got William Hamiter on a groundout to end the game.
It was a back-and-forth game, with Snell giving Alabama a 3-2 lead with a three-run homer in the first. UCF rallied with for a 6-5 lead in the fifth on RBI doubles by Matt Cedarburg and Zyska. Alabama tied the game a final time, 7-7, on Hodo’s RBI single in the eighth.
Sosnoski (1-0) pitched the final two innings for the victory. Davis (4-2) took the loss for Alabama.
UCF (36-19) will take on top-seeded and home-standing FSU on Saturday.
Alabama plays Stetson to avoid elimination.
Wilson's hot hitting powers Florida past Nebraska
Ashton Wilson doubled three times and hit his first home run for Florida, and the Gators opened the NCAA Stillwater Regional with a 5-2 victory over Nebraska. Wilson made just his fifth start of the season, all since May 16, after transferring from Charleston Southern. His two-run double in the third inning gave the Gators (29-27) the lead for good, and his homer to left field in the ninth put them up three runs.
Freshman starter Liam Peterson (3-4) allowed two runs on four hits, walked three and struck out seven over 5-1/3 innings for the Gators, who will play Saturday against the winner of Friday night’s game between Niagara and Oklahoma State.
Big Ten pitcher of the year Brett Sears (9-1) gave up three runs on 10 hits and a walk in five innings and took his first loss. The Cornhuskers (39-21), in their first regional since 2021, will play the Niagara-Oklahoma State loser in an elimination game on Saturday.
The Gators, the national runners-up to LSU last year and in their 16th consecutive regional, went ahead 1-0 when leadoff man Cade Kurland hit Sears’ third pitch over the left-center field fence. Nebraska got that run back in the bottom of the first, but Wilson’s double down the left-field line in the third restored the Gators’ lead.
Gabe Swansen’s homer in the sixth pulled the Huskers within 3-2. The Gators got their final runs on Kurland’s single in the eighth and Wilson’s first home run since April 16, 2023, when he played for Charleston Southern.