Florida State baseball (7-0) rolled to a seventh straight win on Tuesday, downing South Florida (4-3), 12-4, at Dick Howser Stadium in front of 4,654 fans.

The Seminoles are 7-0 for the first time since 2019, when they started 12-0.

"It was a great game in all phases of the game," FSU head coach Link Jarrett said.

"I was proud of the game we played...All and all I'm very proud of the pitching and defense. Up and down the lineup, you could probably pick out at-bats for every guy had that were quality at-bats."

Tibbs sends it out of the park twice

Jamie Tibbs III highlighted the offense effort, hitting his fourth and fifth home runs of the season off a two-run shot in the first and a solo homer in the eighth.

He finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs. He has four home runs in the last two games.

"Tibbs just advanced," Jarrett said.

"I've had some great hitters in my time and he's as advanced as anyone thinking the game. He stands there right beside me throughout the game, when he's not on base or batting, and it's just thinking the game at a high level, and executing."

Tibbs credits his hot start to the season to his experience as a three-year starter. In seven games he's batting .370 (10-for-27) with seven RBIs.

At this time last season, Tibbs was 8-of-22, with one home run and batting .308.

"I'm starting to get a little bit of an idea of what to expect and the hope is that you're able to adjust," Tibbs said.

"It's been a lot of up and down, good and bad, but it's nice to go out there and feel confident in yourself. Let your body and your approach take care of everything."

Cam Smith hit his first home run of the year off a two-run shot in the eighth. He finished 4-for-5 with four RBIs.

Tibbs stressed how much of a privilege it has been to hit behind Smith and Jaime Ferrer this season

"It's been one of the biggest luxuries I've had," Tibbs said. "I can't be more thankful for what they do and how talented those two are. It's pretty fun to watch Cam hit and it's just as fun to watch Jamie hit. Being squished in the middle of those two is a blessing for sure."

Whittaker picks up first win of season

FSU chased five different USF pitchers, who combined allowed 12 runs on 10 hits and walked seven of 41 batters faced.

On the mound, junior Conner Whittaker (1-0) picked up the win, allowing two runs on seven hits and striking out eight of 22 batters faced over five innings.

"That's a talented team. They're older and there's a lot of seniors in the lineup," Jarrett said.

"We've seen them but Whittaker navigated it and he did exactly what Whitaker does...It looked like he got better as he went on. I thought the sixth inning was actually the sharpest he was. I'm proud of him. He works hard."

Ben Barrett picked up the save, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out three of 13 batters faced over three innings.

Heading on road for first time this season

The Seminoles will face Illinois in Greenville, South Carolina on Friday at 2 p.m. to open up the First Pitch Invitational. FSU will also face Michigan State on Saturday and Western Michigan on Sunday.

Illinois is sitting at 3-5, recently snapping a three-game losing streak at the Coastal Carolina Tournament with a 12-2 win over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday.

Jarrett said the focus for FSU is day-to-day and is trying not to look ahead of its opponent on Friday. That single-game focus had contributed to the Seminoles' early season success.

"You might ask me about the records and stuff and I couldn't tell you my team's records any of the last 10. I have no idea," Jarrett said. "It's can you prepare, function, and be on point for the first pitch on Friday? That's kind of the emphasis I have and making sure they're doing their work.

"We're structuring things so that when we get to that we're getting the delivery and the answers that we want with just one pitch at a time and good baseball."

Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on X @jackgwilliams. 

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU baseball stays undefeated with Tuesday night win over South Florida