After a postponed midweek game against UCF and a nearly two week break, the Florida State Seminoles got back to the diamond over the weekend.
The ‘Noles saw plenty of ranked competition in No. 19 Baylor (14-2) and No. 21 Arkansas (14-4), along with Kent State (7-3) and Villanova (8-7).
On Friday, head coach Lonni Alameda’s squad was humbled early with a 2-1 loss to Baylor. Senior Caylan Arnold got the start and struggled early, allowing a run in the 1st inning and another in the 3rd. On offense, the ‘Noles were able to hit Baylor pitcher Aliyah Pritchett, but struggled to score. Their first and only run came in the fifth inning, as the bats went quiet after that.
The Noles drop the first game of the day to No. 19 Baylor, 2-1. pic.twitter.com/lps32kTu3j
— Florida State Softball (@FSU_Softball) February 28, 2020
Later in the day the ‘Noles squared off against Kent State, where they saw a much different outcome.
After the loss to Baylor, they needed to get the bats hot again. The nod was given to Sophomore Kathryn Sandercock to face off against the Golden Flashes. She was able to go six innings with a nice lead thanks to her offense.
The ‘Noles produced four multi-run innings, as Cassidy Davis, Devyn Flaherty, Morgan Noah, and Kaia LoPreste all scored multiple runs. Kiersten Landers and Elizabeth Mason contributed to the fun with RBI of their own. In the end, the ‘Noles won 11-1, with the only run given up on a solo shot:
The Noles close out the day with an 11-1 win over Kent State! pic.twitter.com/CDvj5bljOl
— Florida State Softball (@FSU_Softball) February 28, 2020
On Saturday, the Seminole squad played another doubleheader, this time against Baylor and Arkansas. The ‘Noles gave up two runs in the first inning, but they bounced back with three of their own in the 4th inning.
They scored two more in the 6th and held on to win 5-3, exacting revenge against the Bears, who threw their ace, Gia Rodoni. Sandercock picked up her second win in as many games:
NOLES WIN! No. 8 FSU defeats No. 19 Baylor in its first game of the day. The Noles will take on No. 21 Arkansas later this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/5tMPk0CCcL
— Florida State Softball (@FSU_Softball) February 29, 2020
The second game of the day saw Florida State square off against the hosting Arkansas Razorbacks. Arnold was put up against the home side’s ace, Autumn Storms. Arnold allowed just one run in five-plus innings of work, before Sandercock came on in relief.
The Seminole offense scored one in the 2nd and added a crucial insurance run in the 6th, which proved to be the game-winner. Mason and Muffley collected FSU’s runs in the 2-1 victory over the Razorbacks:
NOLES WIN!
— Florida State Softball (@FSU_Softball) March 1, 2020
No. 8 Florida State earns a 2-1 road win over No. 21 Arkansas! pic.twitter.com/Fneq3fpClU
The last matchup came against the Villanova Wildcats, which had already posted a win over Baylor. FSU was off to a hot start with Davis and Sherrill each hitting 2-run home runs in the first two innings.
However, that was all the ‘Noles were able to get together on offense until the last inning. Davis got the ball to start in the circle, and she kept the Wildcats off the board until the fateful 3rd inning. She gave up a leadoff walk before getting consecutive groundouts...and then the floodgates opened.
Davis gave up back-to-back singles, and Alameda decided to bring on Brianna Enter in relief. However, things only got worse, as she walked two straight batters before allowing the go-ahead 3-run HR.
Davis was brought back to pitch, but was still ineffective, giving up two more hits before giving way for good to Sandercock, who mercifully got the final out, but not before the Cats scratched across 8 runs. She gave up just three hits and one run in her 4.1 IP, but it wasn’t enough. FSU attempted to start a comeback in the seventh, posting two runs to cut the lead down, but the ‘Noles fell to Villanova by a score of 9-6:
The Noles bring the tying run to the plate in the seventh, but the comeback falls short as Villanova wins, 9-6. pic.twitter.com/12Zh15bqHc
— Florida State Softball (@FSU_Softball) March 1, 2020
FSU now has their sights set on Holy Cross in Tallahassee, as the Noles face off against the Crusaders at 6:00 pm tonight in the Seminole Softball Complex:
Tomorrow's gonna be fun
— Florida State Softball (@FSU_Softball) March 2, 2020
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