FSU Tops Baseball In Back-And-Forth Affair, 5-4

Saturday, May 17

Tallahassee, Fla.

2 PM

North Carolina

39-12, 18-11

Florida State

37-13, 17-10

North Carolina

Florida State

May 17, 2025 | Baseball

Box Score

By: William Soulé

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – No. 4 North Carolina baseball fell just short of a sweep on Saturday afternoon, losing 5-4 on the road to No. 2 Florida State.

The Tar Heels (39-12, 18-11 ACC), having secured the series the day before in run-rule fashion, battled back and forth with Seminoles all game. Florida State held an early three-run lead before Carolina jumped in front in the top of the eighth, but the Noles got two of their own back in the bottom half to take the win.

UNC starter Aidan Haugh bounced back nicely from a rocky first inning to put up four straight zeros and keep the Heels within striking distance of a comeback. He finished with four strikeouts in 4.2 IP.

Alex Madera singled to left in the second to score Gavin Gallaher to get Carolina on the board. From there, neither team scored until the seventh as the pitchers dueled.

The deadlock was broken by an unexpected source. Sawyer Black, out of the lineup for 48 days due to injury, pinch hit in the DH spot and hit a bomb over the short porch in right field to tie the game at 3-3. The third long ball of the year for the true freshman, his return to the lineup would be a huge addition to the Diamond Heels' offensive attack.

One inning later, with two outs on the board, Gallaher crushed a ball the other way to put Carolina in front. The sophomore has been on fire down the final stretch of the regular season. In the team's last 19 games, he leads the pack with 10 home runs and 30 RBI while hitting .342 overall.

The weekend's results earned the Tar Heels the No. 3 seed in next week's ACC Baseball Championship in Durham. They must wait on their opponent but have been locked into the Friday night 7 p.m. ET time slot. Fans looking to purchase tickets for the game should go to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park website.