Florida State Surprises North Carolina With Walk-off Win :: FSU's Shane Robinson hits game-winner with the bases loaded in the ninth

May 25, 2006

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.(AP)- Shane Robinson hit a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Florida State a surprising 7-6 win over North Carolina on Thursday and eliminate the No. 2 seeded Tar Heels in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

FSU (40-18) loaded the bases in the ninth inning on a hits batsman, a walk and a fielder's choice to set up Robinson's game-winning hit. The junior centerfielder who leads the team in hitting with a .351 mark had been hitless in his first four times at bat, but lifted a long fly ball over a drawn in outfield that bounced against the outfield wall on one bounce.

The Seminoles had fought back from a 5-1 deficit with a five-run sixth inning, highlighted by Dennis Guinn's grand slam home run to take a 6-5 lead.

North Carolina (45-13) tied the score in the top of the seventh on a double by Chad Flack and a single by Seth Williams. It remained that way until the ninth inning when Robinson delivered his timely hit.

It marked the third consecutive year that Florida State had earned a walk-off win against the Tar Heels in the league tournament. Two years ago, the Seminoles used a safety squeeze bunt to bring home the winning run in the 11th inning for an 8-7 win. Last year FSU won 3-2 on a throwing error in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Guinn was the only Noles player with more than one hit, collecting his 17th double of the season in addition to his 11th home run. Every FSU starter had a hit except designated hitter Tommy Oravetz. Second baseman Tony Thomas hit his fifth home run of the season in the third inning for FSU's first run of the game.

Flack led the Tar Heels 11-hit attack with three hits, including his 11th home run of the season. North Carolina struck out a season high 15 times. It marked the second year in a row that UNC lost its first two games in the tournament.

Florida State moves on to meet the loser of Thursday's game between Virginia and NC State in a 4 p.m. Friday game.