TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Behind a trio of home runs and a strong start on the mound, the No. 9-seeded Florida State baseball team defeated Mississippi State 10-3 to advance to the Regional Final of the Tallahassee Regional on Saturday night at Dick Howser Stadium.
 
Freshman first baseman Myles Bailey hit a grand slam in the fourth inning, his fifth consecutive game with a home run, and junior second baseman Drew Faurot hit two homers to power the offense. On the mound, junior left-handed pitcher Jamie Arnold struck out a season-high 13 batters in 7.0 innings to earn the win.
 
The Seminoles (40-14) improve to 2-0 in the double-elimination regional and will play in the Regional Final on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. FSU, the region’s top seed, will play the winner between No. 2-seed Northeastern and No. 3-seed Mississippi State, as the two 1-1 teams will face off Sunday at 12 p.m. in an elimination game.
 
Florida State has won five consecutive regional games, all at home, and seven postseason games in a row in Tallahassee. The Seminoles improve to 209-134 all-time in NCAA contests and 157-63 in regional games as they go 2-0 to begin a regional for the second year in a row.
 
Bailey hit the first postseason grand slam by a Seminole since 2013, when Brett Knief went yard in an 11-4 win over Troy on June 2, also in the NCAA Regional. The home run is Bailey’s 17th of the season and sixth in his last five games. He becomes the sixth player in program history to hit a homer in five consecutive games and the first since Jeremy Salazar achieved the feat in 1998.
 
Faurot homered twice and now has 15 on the season. He finished the day with two hits, three RBI and two runs scored. Bailey’s four RBI were a game high, and junior right fielder Gage Harrelson also had two hits with an RBI and a run scored.
 
Meanwhile, Arnold improved to 8-2 and held Mississippi State to three runs on five hits with just two walks. The 13 strikeouts, which included three in both the third and seventh, are the second-most in a game in Arnold’s three year career.
 
While eclipsing the 100-strikeout plateau in 2025, Arnold moved into FSU’s top-10 list for career strikeouts with 318. He sits at No. 10 all-time and passes Chris Chavez, who fanned 312 batters from 1996-99.
 
The Seminoles, who were the road team and batted first in the contest, scored their 10 runs on nine hits with no errors. The Bulldogs (35-22) were held to three runs on five hits and committed two errors. FSU pitchers walked just two batters as the team drew 16 walks offensively.
 
Florida State took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on Faurot’s home run to right-center. The two-run shot on the first pitch of the at-bat scored sophomore third baseman Cal Fisher, who led off the inning with a double. Mississippi State answered with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 2-1, but Arnold limited the damage.
 
The FSU junior southpaw then struck out the side in the third.
 
Bailey’s grand slam highlighted a five-run fourth inning to give the Seminoles a 7-1 lead. Two walks and three stolen bases put runners on second and third for Harrelson, who singled in the first run with one out. A walk loaded the bases, and with two outs, Bailey hit his first career grand slam. It came on an 0-1 pitch and bounced under the scoreboard in left.
 
The Bulldogs got two runs back in the fourth on a two-out, two-run home run. That made it 7-3 and would be MSU’s final run of the day.
 
Arnold retired the side in order in the fifth and left a runner on second in a scoreless sixth. Back-to-back strikeouts ended the seventh and left two runners on, with the tying run in the on-deck circle.
 
The Seminoles added three insurance runs in the ninth, beginning with Faurot’s leadoff home run off the camera platform in straightaway center field. With two outs, junior shortstop Alex Lodise singled in one run and junior center fielder Max Williams drove in the last with a base hit to make it 10-3.
 
Redshirt senior right-hander Joe Charles retired all six batters he faced to finish off the win. Two strikeouts and a groundout capped the contest.
 
Florida State advances to the Regional Final on Sunday at Dick Howser Stadium at 6 p.m. ET after an elimination game at 12 p.m. If necessary, the two regional finalists will play another game on Monday at a time to be determined. Tickets are available at Seminoles.com/Tickets.
 
Every game of the regional will air live on ESPN+, with the potential for games to be elevated to a national TV broadcast. 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 NCAA.com. 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 also are available by following and connecting with the team on social media on Twitter/X and Facebook (@FSUBaseball) and Instagram (@NoleBaseball). Additional information about the regional is at Seminoles.com.
 
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).