Knapp Complete Game Gem Leads Carolina To 8-3 Win Over Florida State

Thursday, May 15

Tallahassee, Fla.

7 PM

North Carolina

38-11, 17-10

Florida State

36-12, 16-9

North Carolina

Florida State

Knapp Complete Game Gem Leads Carolina To 8-3 Win Over Florida State

May 16, 2025 | Baseball

Box Score

By: William Soulé

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Senior captain Jake Knapp was spectacular on the mound for No. 4 North Carolina, going the distance to guide his team to an 8-3 win over No. 2 Florida State over Thursday night.

The Tar Heels (38-11,17-10 ACC) picked up their highest ranked win of the season and their first top-five victory since upsetting No. 2 Virginia Tech on their way to an ACC tournament title in 2022. Ironically enough, that was also the last time Carolina had a nine inning complete game as Brandon Schaeffer got the win.

Today it was all about Knapp. The eyes of the nation turned to the battle between the two best pitchers in the ACC. Knapp, the conference's ERA and victories leader, faced off against projected first overall pick Jamie Arnold.

The Carolina kid would go out and do what he's done all year, dominate. Knapp went the full 9.0 innings allowing just four hits and three runs while racking up seven strikeouts on zero walks.

"I'm just so proud of him," North Carolina head coach Scott Forbes said of Knapp after the game. "I thought he was in total control, didn't walk anybody. He set the tone for us like he's done all year. He's the story of the game and I could not be happier for the kid who battled back from so much to get to where he is today."

An unblemished 11-0 record to his name, Knapp has the most victories of any starting pitcher in the nation this season. He sits one win shy of a tie with Adam Warren for the most in a single season without a loss in Tar Heel history.

Of course Knapp could not have won the pitchers' duel without the Carolina bats coming through in a big way on Thursday night in Dick Howser Stadium. UNC got big pop in their eight hits on the night, logging two home runs and a triple to give their man on the mound a comfortable cushion.

Gavin Gallaher got things going by absolutely tattooing an Arnold fastball 420 feet beyond the scoreboard in left field for a solo homer. He now has the second most long balls on the team with 13, nine of which came in his last 17 games.

But the night really belonged to Carolina's captains. Jackson Van De Brake came to the aid of his co-leader Knapp by going 3-for-4 with a homer, a triple, a single, and a walk with four RBIs and two runs scored. He may have fallen a double short of UNC's first cycle since 2019, but his bat carried the Heels in big moments all night.

Florida native Carter French had himself a big evening as well. Facing off against his high school teammate in Arnold, the UNC left fielder picked up two big hits and scored twice.

Proving their offense is capable of hurting you in a variety of ways, Forbes called upon senior Reece Holbrook to lay down a safety squeeze as a pinch hitter and he executed it flawlessly. His near-perfectly weighted bunt gave the Seminoles no chance at a play at the plate, scoring Alex Madera easily.

Tyson Bass made a high IQ play to score from second tagging up on an acrobatic catch from Florida State's Chase Williams. Kane Kepley registered two HBPs in a game for the fourth time this year, giving him 24 in total which is just four shy of the Carolina single season record.

The Tar Heels will return to Dick Howser Stadium on Friday night for game two of the series. First pitch is scheduled once again for 7 p.m. ET with ACC Network coverage continuing on into day two.