D.J. Stewart, Marcus Davis and former Port St. Lucie High School star Stephen McGee had three RBIs apiece to help Florida State rout North Carolina State 12-3 on Sunday in Raleigh, N.C., to even the series at one win apiece.
FSU starter Brandon Leibrandt (8-4) earned the win, allowing just three hits and one run in eight innings. The sophomore left-hander struck out seven and walked none.
Stewart had three of the 14 hits for the Seminoles (41-10, 17-9), who regained a half-game lead over the Wolfpack (39-12, 16-9) atop the ACC Atlantic Division. FSU is ranked No. 9 in the nation by Baseball America, and N.C. State is No. 5.
John Sansone added a solo homer for FSU, which will take on N.C. State at 7 Monday night (ESPNU) in the rubber game of the series. N.C. State won 3-1 on Saturday, ending FSU’s nine-game winning streak.
Auburn 4, Florida 1: Damek Tomscha broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning with a solo homer and Ryan Tella hit a three-run shot in the sixth to lead the visiting Tigers (31-20, 11-16 SEC) to a series-clinching win over the Gators (28-25, 13-14).
Starting pitcher Eric Hanhold (0-3) took the loss for UF, allowing one run and four hits in five innings. Richie Martin had three of the seven hits for the Gators, who lost their second consecutive SEC series after winning three straight.
Wake Forest 9, Miami 3: The Demon Deacons (27-24, 8-18 ACC) scored six runs in the eighth to break a 3-3 tie and defeat the visiting Hurricanes (33-20, 12-15) in the series' rubber game.
A bunt that UM first baseman Brad Fieger threw away for an error resulted in the go-ahead run, and Wake Forest tacked on five more runs, getting an RBI double from Mark Rhine and a two-run double from Pat Blair.
David Thompson and Garrett Kennedy hit solo homers for the Hurricanes.
Florida Atlantic 12, Western Kentucky 6: Levi Meyer was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, Nathan Pittman added two RBIs and the visiting Owls (31-20, 16-11 Sun Belt) took advantage of five errors by the Hilltoppers (24-27, 13-14) to complete a three-game sweep.
Central Florida 7, Tulane 3: Chris Taladay went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and Erik Hempe homered for the third straight game as the Knights (28-24, 12-9 Conference USA) won their final home game of the season, beating the Green Wave (27-25, 10-11) to avoid a three-game sweep.
Palm Beach State 3, Seminole 2 (12 innings): Mark Babrick hit a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 12th inning as Palm Beach State (37-18) defeated Seminole (39-13) in the junior college state tournament in Lakeland to clinch a spot in the title game Tuesday. Palm Beach State, which improved to 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament, will play Chipola at 4 p.m. Monday.
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