No. 5 Florida State and center fielder Max Williams came back to beat No. 3 Clemson in extras, hitting a walk-off single to down the Tigers in the 11th inning, 5-4.
Williams was the catalyst in the Seminoles turnaround, hitting a solo home run in the 10th to tie it and the game-winning hit to score pinch hitter Nathan Cmeyla. He finished 3-6 with two RBIs.
Max Williams WALKS IT OFF 👀👀
Florida State takes the opener over #3 Clemson in 11 innings. What a finish pic.twitter.com/nSUH1G5Byg
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) May 3, 2025
A pitchers’ duel through the first five innings, Florida State broke the ice by the end of the sixth inning. Left-handed ace Jamie Arnold was dealing, Williams made a high IQ play to end Clemson’s momentum in the top half of the frame and third baseman Cal Fisher’s solo home run in the bottom half. The Seminoles carried a 2-0 lead heading into the seventh.
That two-run lead was erased in the innings to come. The Tigers had ended Arnold’s day in the seventh and tacked on four total runs in the seventh and eighth to take a 4-2 lead. They were three outs away from stunning FSU in Tallahassee.
Florida State came back to life with its back against the wall, though, scoring two in the ninth before Williams took the reins from there.
Game 2 will be start at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday.
