OMAHA, Nebraska — Jaime Ferrer hit two home runs, Carson Dorsey had a third straight strong start and Florida State stayed alive in the Men's College World Series with a 7-3 victory over Virginia on Sunday.
The Seminoles (48-16) have won at least one game in five consecutive MCWS appearances since 2010 and will play the loser of Sunday night's North Carolina-Tennessee matchup on Tuesday.
The Cavaliers (46-17) went 0-2 in Omaha for the second straight year and have lost six straight MCWS games dating back to 2021.
Florida State was coming off a 12-11 loss to No. 1 national seed Tennessee in its MCWS opener on Friday night. Many in maroon and gold thought the Seminoles had been robbed of a victory when a check-swing call that could have ended the game went to Tennessee before Dylan Dreiling's game-winning hit.
FSU coach Link Jarrett said Friday's result left him with a splitting headache that lasted well into Saturday, and he was worried about how his team would respond.
“This was probably the best game we played this year,” Jarrett said. “That sums up what's in that dugout. It's not easy going to bed after that, it's not a pleasant day. Watching them play their best game, it's a thrill I'll never forget here. It's beyond an experience I've ever had.” had. I had here, only the answer.”
Ferrer hit the first pitch of the fourth inning off Virginia starter Jay Woolfolk and launched a wind-assisted fly into the left field bullpen off Joe Savino for a three-run shot in the fifth. Ferrer has three home runs in two MCWS games, five in his last four games and 22 on the season.
Ferrer has driven in four runs in consecutive games, making him the first player with multiple games with four or more RBIs in a single MCWS since Southern California's Robb Gorr in 1998, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Dorsey (8-4), who allowed three runs and struck out seven, was replaced by Brennen Oxford after allowing a hit to start the eighth. In three NCAA Tournament starts, Dorsey allowed five earned runs and struck out 20 in 21 innings.
Dorsey's four pitches performed at a high level, particularly his curveball, and he relied on breaking more than usual.
“We saw that it worked early in the game and we decided to keep it going,” he said. “You don't need to change what's working.”
The left-hander held the Cavaliers scoreless until the seventh, when the ball left Ferrer's glove as he attempted to catch Henry Godbout's liner to left. That allowed Ethan Anderson to score from second, and Casey Saucke followed with an RBI single.
Woolfolk (4-2) left in the fourth after injuring his right knee in the field that Ferrer took out for his first home run of the game. Athletic trainer Brian McGuire visited the mound and Woolfolk threw some warm-up pitches to see if he could continue. He got an out and walked Drew Faurot, prompting another visit from McGuire. This time Woolfolk came out and Savino took over.
“A freak accident,” said an emotional Woolfolk. “I feel good. I feel great now. It's just something that happened. I wish I could have moved on.”
It was a tough ending for Woolfolk, originally a two-sport athlete who was expected to compete for the starting quarterback job on the football team in 2023. He announced a month before fall camp that he would leave football to focus on the baseball and He was a weekend starter the first month of the season.
But he struggled with his control and went to the bullpen before coach Brian O'Connor gave him another chance to start in the postseason, and he turned in two of the best performances of his career in regionals and super regionals. He was alert Sunday until he got hurt, striking out three and retiring FSU's first six batters.
The game was delayed more than five minutes in the eighth inning after home plate umpire Linus Baker was shaken when a foul ball on the ground behind home plate bounced off his right knee and under the chin of his mask. Medical staff treated Baker and gave him the all-clear to continue, and team personnel checked his mask before play resumed.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
