Mixed Results. The Noles ended up with a winning record last week (3-2), but failed again to beat Top 25 competition (USF) on the road. Two words come to mind right now about FSU's 23-5 record. Paper tiger. If it sound harsh, it probably is harsh. My feeling is that after a rough 2011 that featured up and down performances all year the 2012 Noles graduated to generally beating the teams they "should" beat. Their record reflects that. The problem is that they need to take another step and start beating high quality opponents.

I did not see any of the games in person this week, so my observations are based purely on stats and recaps.

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Quick & Dirty Notes.

Noles over Chattanooga on Tuesday 1-0. Monica Perry pitched a gem yet again.

Noles over Northwestern 1-0 and 2-0 over Fairfield on Saturday.

Noles lost to Rutgers 1-0 and USF 2-1 (on a walk off HR in extra innings polk corrected me below, it was Bottom 7).

Let me be clear, Rutgers is not a good team. They are under .500 and the lowest ERA on their pitching staff is a very high for softball 3.25. Perhaps FSU was looking ahead to a big match up with USF later in the day? Maybe it's just the youth of our team showing itself? It's also bothersome that this is a repeat of the way FSU played out in Hawaii, losing to Radford before taking on a Top 25 Hawaii team. Our offense needs to produce better against quality opponents.

Florida State needs to figure out how to win on the road or it's going to be a quick exit in the tournament.

Bright Spots

The pitching staff is tremendous. Seven runs over five games is more than acceptable. Fans should be comfortable with Perry, Waldrop, Schinella or Nori in the circle. They bring unique styles to the game and it helps to keep opposing batters off balance. They are the difference between an up and down 2011 season and a very good 2012.

Maddie O'Brien hit a HR on St. Patrick's Day.

We continue to steal bases at will.

That's pretty much it for this update. Hopefully, this is just a mid-season offensive slump and the Noles will snap out of it when it matters for ACC play and at tournament time.

We shall see.

Go Noles!

Season FSU Softball Statistics (take them for what they're worth, which isn't always much).

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