LAKE MONTICELLO, Va. (Interstat) — Trey Beard and John Abraham combined for a dominant two-hit shutout from the mound, and Hunter Carns provided the decisive blow with a two-run homer, as the Florida State Seminoles evened their series with a 5-2 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers in Atlantic Coast Conference baseball Friday at Davenport Field.

The game, a tightly contested pitchers’ duel for long stretches, pivoted on the Seminoles’ pitching and a critical sixth-inning rally. After Virginia scratched out a run in the fifth to cut the deficit to 3-1, Carns answered in the top of the sixth. Following a walk to Brayden Dowd and a flyout, the Florida State catcher launched a two-run home run deep to center field off reliever Noah Yoder. The homer, his second of the season, restored a four-run cushion and proved insurmountable for the Cavaliers.

Beard, Florida State’s top star, delivered his best performance of the season to earn the win. The right-hander worked five strong innings, allowing two earned runs on just two hits while striking out seven. He navigated early traffic and a two-run Virginia fifth, which featured an RBI single from Joe Tiroly, before handing the game to the bullpen.

Abraham was flawless in relief, securing the save with four hitless innings. He struck out six Cavaliers, extinguishing a late Virginia threat in the eighth inning after two walks and a passed ball put the tying run in the on-deck circle. Abraham ended that inning with a strikeout and retired the side in order in the ninth to seal the victory.

The most important part of the game was the immediate response by Florida State after Virginia’s first scoring threat. The Cavaliers, held hitless by Beard through four innings, broke through in the fifth on Tiroly’s single. The momentum briefly shifted to the home side, but Carns’ homer in the very next half-inning halted it decisively, allowing Abraham to work with a comfortable lead over the final four frames.

Florida State (23-7, 4-4 ACC) built its initial lead with small ball and capitalizing on Virginia mistakes. The Seminoles plated an unearned run in the third inning when Eli Putnam drew a bases-loaded walk, scoring Dowd after two Cavalier errors extended the inning. They added two more in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Kelvyn Paulino Jr. and a bizarre play where Cal Fisher struck out but reached on a wild pitch, allowing Carns to score.

Virginia (24-8, 7-4) managed only seven hits, with two each from AJ Gracia and Tiroly. Jake Weatherspoon provided the other Cavaliers run with a solo homer off Beard to lead off the sixth, prompting the move to Abraham. Starter Max Stammel took the loss, yielding two earned runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings, striking out seven but hurt by his team’s three errors.

The result defied the pregame projections from Interstat, which gave Virginia a 54% probability to win and simulated a high-scoring 8-7 Florida State victory. Instead, pitching ruled the day. The win avenges Florida State’s 4-3 loss to Virginia in the series opener on Thursday.

The teams will meet for the rubber game of the three-game series Saturday afternoon.