TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — James Tibbs III hit his third home run of the game, a two-run shot in the top of the 12th inning, and Florida State defeated UConn 10-8 on Saturday, sweeping the Tallahassee Regional for a berth in the College World Series.
After Max Williams led off the 12th with a single and Cam Smith flied out, Tibbs drove a 1-0 pitch deep over the fence in right field for the go-ahead runs. In the bottom of the inning, Conner Whittaker allowed a two-out single but struck out Paul Tammaro to end it and send the No. 8 seed Seminoles to Omaha for the 24th time. They have never won the national championship.
Tibbs’ dramatic home run was his third two-run shot of the game. It was his 31st home run of the season and his 100 RBI are tied for first in the nation. He went 5-for-6 with six RBI on Saturday. Williams had three hits and scored twice.
In the top of the ninth, Florida State (47-15) loaded the bases on a walk, a single and an error, then Drew Faurot lifted a fly to left field and Jordan Williams scored from third. The next two batters flied out to end the inning.
UConn’s Matt Malcolm tied it with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth.
Connecticut (35-26) loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth inning. Luke Broadhurst laced a double to center field, scoring three runs and giving the Huskies a 7-6 lead. Earlier, he had an RBI-single in the first inning and a two-run home run in the fifth. He finished 4-for-5 with six RBI.
In the top of the eighth, Jaxson West tied it up with a leadoff home run to right field.
There were eight home runs in the game, six by Florida State.
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