TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The No. 5 Florida State baseball team walked off No. 3 Clemson 6-5 in 11 innings after erasing ninth- and 10th-inning deficits in the opening game of a top-five series at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, on Friday night.
 
Junior center fielder Max Williams provided the extra-inning heroics, with a game-tying home run in the 10th inning and a game-winning single in the 11th. That came after the Seminoles (32-9, 13-6 ACC) scored two in the ninth with two outs to tie the game at 4-4 to begin their late-game dramatics.
 
FSU took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning and made it 2-0 in the sixth. However, the Tigers (36-11, 13-9 ACC) tied it in the seventh at 2-2 and took a 3-2 lead two pitches later. Clemson added one more in the eighth to double its lead to 4-2. Florida State rallied to tie it in the ninth at 4-4 and again in the 10th at 5-5 before the 11th-inning walk-off.
 
Williams’ game-winning hit in the 11th inning came on an RBI single through the left side. The hard-hit grounder skipped past Clemson’s third baseman and allowed redshirt senior catcher Nathan Cmeyla to score from second. After a review, the call stood that Cmeyla slid home safely just under the tag on the throw from left.
 
Sophomore right-handed reliever Peyton Prescott earned the win after he pitched a scoreless 11th inning. Two walks put two on, but with two outs, a called third strike stranded the go-ahead run on second. Prescott improved to 4-0 on the season and did not allow a hit with two strikeouts in his 1.0 innings.
 
The game got to the 11th after each team hit solo home runs in the 10th. Both to right field, the Tigers’ was a one-out shot to give them a 5-4 advantage, only for Williams to launch one deep into the night on a 1-0 pitch to lead off the bottom of the frame and tie the contest again at 5-5. Both teams also left two on in the inning, as back-to-back outs ended the top half and a groundout ended the bottom to send it to the 11th.
 
The game went to extras thanks to consecutive two-out run-scoring hits in the bottom of the ninth inning. Trailing 4-2, sophomore left fielder Chase Williams doubled off the wall in right-center, just missing his first career home run. With two outs, redshirt freshman pinch hitter James Hankerson Jr. drove home Chase Williams to make it 4-3. FSU was down to its last strike, but junior right fielder Gage Harrelson knocked in the tying run, freshman pinch runner BJ Gibson, with an RBI single on an 0-2 pitch to make it 4-4.
 
Max Williams had three hits in the win and two RBI, both in extra innings. His 10th-inning home run was his team-leading 16th of the season. Chase Williams had a career-best four hits with a run scored. Sophomore Cal Fisher also homered, his seventh of the season, as part of a three-hit evening.
 
Junior left-handed starter Jamie Arnold had another strong outing. In 6.0 innings, he allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts and three walks. After Clemson had taken a 4-2 lead with one out in the eighth, the Seminole bullpen held the visitors to one run on two hits in the final 3.2 innings.
 
FSU’s six runs came on 14 hits, while CU’s five runs came on 10 hits. The visitors committed one error.
 
Florida State took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on a sac fly by junior second baseman Drew Faurot. The Seminoles made it 2-0 courtesy of Fisher’s home run off the scoreboard with two outs in the sixth.
 
Arnold stranded runners on in four of the first five innings. In the sixth, a pair of fine defensive plays helped Arnold and FSU escape without a run scoring. The first out was thanks to freshman catcher Hunter Carns throwing out a runner attempting to steal second. Then with the bases loaded, Clemson appeared to tie the game at 1-1 on a sacrifice fly. However, Max Williams caught the ball in center and quickly fired to third to tag out the runner on second who attempted to advance a base. The tag by Fisher was applied before the tagging runner from third crossed home plate for the inning-ending double play.
 
A leadoff single in the seventh ended Arnold’s night. With runners on second and third and one out, a two-RBI single tied the game before a double gave Clemson a 3-2 lead. The Tigers doubled their advantage to 4-2 with a single up the middle in the eighth.
 
The top-five ACC series continues on Saturday, May 3, with a contest that will now air live on ESPN2 at 6 p.m. ET. The series finale on Sunday will now begin at 2 p.m. ET. Tickets are available for Sunday’s game at Seminoles.com/Tickets or by calling the FSU ticket office at 850-644-1830. Saturday is sold out, but fans can purchase tickets on SeatGeek. Limited tickets for FSU students remain available, and admission is free with their FSU I.D. at the Haggard Plaza right field gate.
 
Saturday is a beach towel giveaway, presented by Truist, for the first 1,000 fans. There is a hand fan giveaway on Sunday while supplies last. Each Saturday at Howser is Military Saturday. At every Sunday regular-season home game in 2025, Kids Club members and youth wearing their little league jerseys will be admitted free, and kids 12 and under will be allowed to run the bases postgame.
 
Saturday night’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Sunday’s game is on ACC Network Extra, accessible through your television provider or a subscription to ESPN+. Fans can listen to every game via the Seminole Sports Network on WFLA 100.7 FM and around the world on the FSU Gameday App and Seminoles.com. Live stats can be found at FSU.Statbroadcast.com (Saturday | Sunday). Direct links to watch, listen and follow along can be found on the schedule page at Seminoles.com/Baseball. News, notes and behind-the-scenes updates all weekend also are available by following and connecting with the team on social media on Twitter/X and Facebook (@FSUBaseball) and Instagram (@NoleBaseball).
 
For more information on Florida State baseball, check Seminoles.com for the latest news and scheduling information, and keep up with the team on social media through Twitter/X and Facebook (@FSUBaseball) & Instagram (@NoleBaseball).