Advertisement

Ace Cam Leiter improves to 3-0, Alex Lodise collects 4 hits as FSU baseball moves to 12-0

The undefeated Florida State Seminoles (12-0) continued their winning streak Friday night, beating New Orleans (8-4) 13-0 to begin the three-game series at Dick Howser Stadium. The Seminole bats stayed hot, scoring 13 runs on 15 hits, while four pitchers combined for FSU’s second shutout of the season.

Offensively the Noles were led by sophomore Alex Lodise who went 4-for-4 at the plate, including a double, home run, and three RBIs. Marco Dinges also accounted for three hits, including a double and a home run and Jaime Ferrer hit his fourth home run of the season. Cam Smith was 2-for-4 to maintain his .500 batting average for the season and James Tibbs had a double and triple in his first two at-bats.

Cam Leiter, the right-handed sophomore, improved to 3-0 and has been the starting pitcher in both of FSU’s shutouts this season. He struck out six in 6.0 innings to lower his season ERA to 2.70.

Florida State infielder Cam Smith (24) swings at the pitch. The Florida Gators defeated the Florida State Seminoles 9-5 on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
Florida State infielder Cam Smith (24) swings at the pitch. The Florida Gators defeated the Florida State Seminoles 9-5 on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

FSU baseball notes from win over New Orleans

  • Florida State improved to 12-0 for the first time since 2019; it is the 10th 12-0 start in program history. Florida State is one of three remaining undefeated Division I teams.

  • FSU improved to 8-0 when scoring in the first inning and when scoring first.

  • The Noles have scored at least seven runs in all 12 games this year; FSU entered the day fourth in the country with 12.0 runs/game.

  • Alex Lodise set season highs with four hits, three runs and three RBI to raise his season batting average to .343; all of FSU’s qualified hitters are batting above .300. Lodise has a season-high four-game hit streak and has a home run in three consecutive games. FSU has had a player with at least three hits in all 12 games to begin the season.

  • Jaime Ferrer hit his fourth home run in five games and has 20 for his career. Ferrer has reached safely in all 12 games this season and has a home run in three consecutive games.

  • Marco Dinges hit his second home run of the season. He has a six-game hitting streak and tied a season-high with three hits.

  • Cam Smith singled in his second at-bat to extend his hitting streak to 16 games, tied for the fourth-longest at FSU over the last 10 seasons. Smith is hitting .500 on the season.

  • James Tibbs III hit a double and triple in his first two at-bats. Tibbs leads FSU with 11 extra-base hits; his triple was the second of his career.

  • FSU entered the weekend ninth in the country and leading the ACC with seven triples.

  • DeAmez Ross’s 22-game on-base streak ended, but he did have two sacrifice flies. His two RBI tied a season high.

  • Starting pitcher Cam Leiter pitched 6.0 shutout innings with six strikeouts. It was his second career outing of 6+ shutout innings; he pitched 7.0 shutout frames vs. Cincinnati last year at UCF.

Saturday's game moved due to inclement weather

Due to inclement weather, Saturday’s game against New Orleans will now begin at 6:00 p.m. The game will stream on ACCNX. LHP Andrew Armstrong will make his third career start.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU blanks New Orleans, improves to 12-0 for 1st time since 2019