Erwin took his first career loss (File Photo)

No. 8 Florida State (44-11, 20-10 ACC) clinched its seventh straight ACC Atlantic Division title and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming ACC Baseball Championship with a 6-1 victory over No. 19 Clemson (39-17, 18-12 ACC) Saturday afternoon on Mike Martin Field inside Dick Howser Stadium.

The ACC Baseball Championship will get underway Wednesday, May 23 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C. The full tournament schedule will be announced by the league office on Sunday.

With the win, Florida State won its 10th straight ACC series at home. It also marked the first series victory over Clemson since 2009 when the Seminoles took 2 of 3 from the Tigers in Tallahassee.

“Those guys in the clubhouse deserve all the credit,” said head coach Mike Martin. “That was a very interesting baseball game that was just played. I am very proud of this group. We haven’t accomplished our goal yet, but to accomplish what they did in a week’s time is pretty impressive. It shows the amount of character this ball club possesses.”

The Seminoles recorded 13 hits on Saturday including two hits each by DJ Stewart, Stephen McGee, Jose Brizuela and Giovanny Alfonzo. Seth Miller broke open a 3-1 Florida State lead in the sixth with a two-run single on Senior Day as he and Scott Sitz were the two seniors recognized in the final home game of the regular season.

“That was a big hit by Seth Miller,” said Martin. “It broke what was a real close ball game.”

Brandon Leibrandt (9-4) earned his fourth straight victory and fifth in the last six games as the sophomore southpaw allowed a run on nine hits as he walked two and struck out three.

Billy Strode worked the final 4.0 innings to register his first career save. The Parkland, Fla., native entered the game in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and no outs and worked out of the jam after recording a strikeout and a pair of fly outs to maintain Florida State’s lead at 3-1. Strode scattered four hits and did not walk a batter while finishing the game with two strikeouts.

“We got a couple of key hits but no question the key to the game was the sixth inning when they got the bases loaded and nobody out and>Billy Strode pitched us out of it,” added Martin. “That was the biggest part of the ball game.”

Clemson starter Zack Erwin (5-1) suffered his first loss of the season as the freshman southpaw gave up three runs on six hits in 2.0 innings of work.

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Clate Scmidt didn’t allow a run in relief of Matthew Crownover (file photo)

The #8 Florida State Seminoles scored two runs in the first inning and held on for a 2-1 victory over #14 Clemson in front of 5,086 fans at Dick Howser Stadium on Friday night. The Seminoles, who evened the series 1-1, improved to 43-11 overall and 19-10 in the ACC. The Tigers, who saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end, fell to 39-16 overall and 18-11 in the ACC.

Florida State scored two runs in the first inning and had runners at the corners with no outs before the Tigers worked out of the jam. Those were the only two runs of the game the Tiger pitching staff gave up. Clemson put its leadoff batter on base five straight times from innings 3-7, but only managed one run in those five frames and fell one run short.

Seminole starter Luke Weaver (6-2) earned the win by pitching a career-high 7.1 innings. He allowed seven hits, one run, and two walks with eight strikeouts. Billy Strode retired the only batter he faced in the eighth inning, then Robbie Coles pitched a hitless and scoreless ninth inning to record his ninth save of the season.

Matthew Crownover (7-2) suffered the loss, as he yielded five hits, two runs, and no walks with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched. Clate Schmidt, who was making his first appearance since suffering an injury on May 6, pitched 3.2 innings in relief, allowing no hits, no runs, and no walks with one strikeout. Crownover and Schmidt combined to allow only two hits after the first inning.

The Seminoles grabbed the game’s first lead in the first inning. Brett Knief led off with a single to right-center and DJ Stewart laced a double down the left-field line to advance Knief to third. After Stephen McGee loaded the bases with no outs on a hit-by-pitch, Marcus Davis grounded a 1-2 pitch through the right side for a single to score Knief and Stewart. It marked the first time in 13 starts in 2013 that Crownover gave up a run in the first inning. But with runners on first and third and no outs, Crownover retired the next three Seminoles without allowing another run.

Steve Wilkerson led off the sixth inning with a single to left-center. Two batters later, Garrett Boulware ripped a one-out double down the left-field line, then Shane Kennedy grounded out to short to score Wilkerson.

In the ninth inning, Kennedy drew a one-out walk, but Tyler Krieger lined into a game-ending double play.

Davis had both of Florida State’s RBIs, while Knief and Stewart scored the Seminoles’ two runs.

Wilkerson was the only player in the game with multiple hits, as he went 3-for-4 with a steal. Kennedy added two walks, but his 11-game hitting streak came to an end. Clemson outhit Florida State 7-5 and had two more batters reach base than the Seminoles.

Clemson and Florida State will play game-three of the three-game series on Saturday at 3:00 PM on ESPNU. With a win on Saturday, Florida State can clinch the ACC Atlantic Division title. A Clemson win and an N.C. State loss at Duke on Saturday would give Clemson the division championship, while a Clemson win and a Wolfpack win would give N.C. State the division title.

**Story from Clemson SID**