TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The No. 4 Florida State baseball team registered its second walk-off win in less than two weeks, and first at home, with a 5-4 win over Wake Forest on Friday night at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.
 
Junior center fielder Max Williams was the ninth-inning hero with an RBI single in the series opener between two of the top five teams in the ACC.
 
In front of a sold-out, energetic crowd that included the Marching Chiefs, the Seminoles (25-4, 8-2 ACC) led 4-0 in the fourth, but the Demon Deacons (21-10, 7-6 ACC) fought back to tie it with no outs in the seventh. FSU pitchers then stranded a combined five runners on base while getting the final nine outs to set up Williams’ walk-off hit.
 
The ninth inning began with back-to-back walks, on five and four pitches, respectively. Still with no outs and a new pitcher in the game, Williams lined a ball to left that scored junior right fielder Gage Harrelson from second without a throw home.
 
The walk-off win was FSU’s second in its last six games, after a grand slam completed an 8-4 win over Florida in Jacksonville on March 25. It was the team’s first at home in 2025.
 
With the win, Florida State improves to 98-38 all-time against Wake Forest and 52-16 at home. The Seminoles will play for the series win on Saturday afternoon, which would be their eighth of eight to begin the season and fourth consecutive in the ACC.
 
FSU scored its five runs on eight hits and WF scored four runs on seven hits. Neither team committed an error.
 
Junior left-handed starter Jamie Arnold did not allow a run in 5.0 innings. He struck out a season-high 10 batters with two walks and two hits. Florida State’s final three relievers gave up one run on two hits with five strikeouts in 4.0 innings. Sophomore righty Peyton Prescott pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the win and improve to 3-0.
 
The FSU pitching staff helped Wake Forest strand 11 runners on base. WF’s leadoff hitters were 6-for-9 on the night but then 2-for-22 with runners on and 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. The Demon Deacons were held without a two-out RBI.
 
Offensively for Florida State, sophomore third baseman Cal Fisher had three hits with two RBI and junior shortstop Alex Lodise had two hits and two RBI with a home run, his 12th in 2025 and team-leading 37th of his career.
 
Florida State took a 2-0 lead in the third on Lodise’s two-run home run over the right-field wall. The one-out shot scored Fisher, who got the inning started with a leadoff single.
 
The Seminoles doubled the advantage to 4-0 in the fourth, as Fisher singled up the middle to plate redshirt freshman designated hitter James Hankerson Jr. and junior catcher Jaxson West.
 
For Arnold, he left two on in both the first and second innings with strikeouts to end both frames. A 6-4-3 double play helped him face the minimum in the third. With a 2-0 lead, Arnold threw a 1-2-3 fourth with two strikeouts on 11 pitches.
 
Arnold struck out three consecutive batters in the fifth after a leadoff double to the wall in center. The three punch-outs ended Arnold’s night after 5.0 innings.
 
In the top of the sixth against the Seminole bullpen, Wake Forest hit back-to-back home runs, after a leadoff single, to cut its deficit to 4-3. Junior right-hander Maison Martinez then came in and got three outs to end the inning and leave one on.
 
The Demon Deacons tied the game on a single in the seventh. Redshirt senior righty Joe Charles came in with one on and no outs and got out of the jam, with a lineout to left ending the inning and stranding two.
 
Charles left another two on in a clean eighth inning with a strikeout to end it with Demon Deacons on second and third.
 
Prescott pitched a scoreless ninth to keep it a 4-4 game and set up Williams’ heroics in the bottom of the inning.
 
The series continues on Saturday, April 5, at 4 p.m. ET before Sunday’s finale at 1 p.m. Tickets are available for Sunday’s game at Seminoles.com/Tickets or by calling the FSU ticket office at 850-644-1830. Saturday is sold out, but fans can purchase tickets on SeatGeek. Limited tickets for FSU students remain available for both games, and admission is free for FSU students with their I.D. at the Haggard Plaza right field gate.
 
Saturday is the team’s Military Appreciation Game and Sunday is First Responders Day, where first responders can receive discounted tickets by contacting the FSU ticket office. Additionally, at every Sunday regular-season home game in 2025, Kids Club members and youth wearing their little league jerseys will be admitted free, and kids 12 and under will be allowed to run the bases postgame.
 
Saturday and Sunday’s contests are on ACC Network Extra (Saturday | Sunday), accessible through your television provider or a subscription to ESPN+. Fans can listen to every game via the Seminole Sports Network on WFLA 100.7 FM and around the world on the FSU Gameday App and Seminoles.com. Live stats can be found at FSU.Statbroadcast.com (Saturday | Sunday). Direct links to watch, listen and follow along can be found on the schedule page at Seminoles.com/Baseball. News, notes and behind-the-scenes updates all weekend long also are available by following and connecting with the team on social media on Twitter/X and Facebook (@FSUBaseball) and Instagram (@NoleBaseball).
 
For more information on Florida State baseball, check Seminoles.com for the latest news and scheduling information, and keep up with the team on social media through Twitter/X and Facebook (@FSUBaseball) & Instagram (@NoleBaseball).