The seventh-seeded North Carolina baseball team dropped its opening game of pool play in the ACC Tournament by a score of 7-1 to second-seeded Florida State Wednesday night at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro.

With the loss, the Tar Heels fell to 33-24 on the season while the Seminoles improved to 42-14 with the victory.

Starting FSU pitcher Billy Strode tossed six shutout innings to stymie the Carolina bats as Taylore Cherry struggled to hold the Seminole offense at bay. The Seminoles scored four runs in the fourth inning to seize control of the game.

The Tar Heels avoided a shutout by getting on the board in the seventh thanks to Alex Raburn’s RBI single that scored Landon Lassiter.

Heisman trophy winner Jameis Winston entered the game in relief duty for FSU and secured the final nine outs to give Strode his second win of the season.

It doesn’t get any easier for Carolina. Next up for the Tar Heels is a Friday night meeting with third-seeded Virginia at 7 p.m. Head coach Mike Fox says Benton Moss is expected to start things off on the mound for the Tar Heels against the Cavaliers.

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