No. 4 Seminoles bounce back versus Longwood

On the final day of the JoAnne Graf Classic, the fourth-ranked Florida State Seminoles looked to secure the win against Longwood. The day prior, the Lancers secured their best win in program history after the Seminoles rally fell short in the late innings.

In the second contest with Longwood, Mack Leonard got the ball. She gave up a lead-off single but registered two strikeouts and a ground out to get out of the jam.

At the bottom of the first, the Seminoles lineup faced Er’ron Burton again, who came in relief and closed out the first game. Burton put out the first 1-2-3 inning of the game and kept the game scoreless.

Leonard and Burton remained the two in the pitcher's duel until Allison Royalty relieved Leonard in the 3rd. Coming in with two outs, Royalty walked two, but didn’t let them come to fruition as she got her first strikeout of the game to end the frame.

Still, 0-0 heading into the 4th, the ‘Noles looked to put the first run on the board. Now as the DP, Leonard doubled to start it off. Replaced by Autumn Belviy, Kalei Harding reached on a fielder's choice, but a slew of errors allowed Belviy to score and put Harding on second base. Another run came in on a single from Michaela Edenfield, who was eventually replaced for pinch runner in Madi Frey.

Still with no outs and a runner on, Devyn Flaherty tripled, making up for an earlier base running error. Frey scored easily and FSU was up 3-0. Katie Dack added another RBI to her total with a sacrifice fly to bring in Flaherty. Burton, who weathered the scoring storm, didn’t allow another base runner and ended the inning.

Back in the circle for the 5th, Royalty put two more K’s on the board while going there up and three down.

A one out walk to Kaley Mudge came around to score for FSU, as a result of Belviys single.

The 5th run for the ‘Noles promoted the Lancer pitching change, going to Saturday’s star, Maggie Chaplin. She kept the score as it was in order to give her team a final chance in the 7th.

The final inning brought the third FSU pitcher of the game. Makenna Reid came in to close it out, with a 5-0 advantage. In her brief outing, the freshman struck out the side. The Seminoles won 5-0 against the Longwood Lancers.

Gwyn’s Player of the Game

Allison Royalty dealt in the circle today. In her three innings, she didn’t allow a single hit, no runs, and paired it with three strikeouts.

Up Next

The Noles will have one final home game before heading to Clearwater. Tuesday, Feb. 14, they will host a doubleheader against the FAMU Rattlers for a Tallahassee showdown. The games will begin at 4 pm EST and will be shown on ACCNX.