There was no better situation for Alex Lodise to record his first collegiate cycle.
Amid a back-and-forth ninth inning for Florida State, Lodise clobbered a no-doubt grand slam to secure an 8-4 walk-off victory Tuesday night. As the ball drifted over the right-field wall, the Seminoles shortstop tossed his bat and let out a roar to the home dugout to secure a mid-week win over rival Florida.
Lodise's grand slam capped the first cycle for a Florida State hitter since Mike Salvatore in 2019 and marked the 10th in program history.
Lodise kicked things off with a double in the first, followed by a single in the third. He struck out swinging in the fifth, the idea of a cycle not even on his radar. But then he tripled in the seventh to set the stage for his ninth-inning heroics.
Nolan Arenado is the most recent Major Leaguer (of five) to complete a cycle by hitting a walk-off homer, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Arenado did so on Father's Day, while playing for the Rockies on June 18, 2017. The others were Ken Boyer of the Cardinals in 1961, Cesar Tovar of the Twins in 1972, Dwight Evans of the Red Sox in 1984 and Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies in 2010. None of those, including Arenado's, was a grand slam.
Up to eight homers on the season, Lodise tallied all four of his RBIs Tuesday on his game-winning swing. The righty-hitting infielder -- a junior from St. Augustine, Fla. -- entered his second season with the Seminoles in 2025 after transferring from North Florida following his freshman campaign.
But he wasn't the lone Tallahassee product to come up big Tuesday. Former Seminoles third baseman and 2024 first-round Draft pick Cam Smith received word he made the big league club for the Astros after a Spring Training performance that featured an 1.130 OPS and four home runs in 15 games.
Traded to Houston this past offseason, Smith, MLB's No. 58 prospect, played in just 32 Minor League games after being selected 14th overall by the Cubs this past summer. His meteoric rise to the Major Leagues just coincidently aligned with a historic night for his alma mater and former teammate, Lodise.
Kenny Van Doren is a contributor to MLB.com.
