No. 5 FSU Softball hosts Dugout Club Classic: tournament preview, how to watch, game threads

Last weekend, Florida State softball played 6 games in 4 days, sweeping the weekend. This weekend, after a much needed break during the week, they are hosting three more teams in the Dugout Club Classic. UMass, Colgate and Georgia Southern head to Tallahassee to face each other, as well as FSU.

UMass Minutewomen

The Minutewomen, out of the A10, are coming off a 19-32 season in 2022, ending with two losses in their conference tournament. In 2023, they are currently 3-6 and have wins over North Dakota and Charleston Southern. They have faced ranked competition, but dropping games, to UCF and Georgia.

In the batting order, Chloe Whittier leads the charge in several different categories. Her .370 average, 10 H and 4 RBI all lead the Minutewomen offensively. Behind Whittier are Sarah Keagy and Bella Pantoja who both have over 23 at bats on the season and have the second highest RBI total on the team, which as 2 a piece. The Minutewomen aren’t a big power threat, with 1 total homerun and 6 total doubles. They also don’t provide a lot of speed on the base paths, as a team they are 7-9 in stolen bases. They have accumulated a decent amount of walks, with a total of 21, Sarah Keagy leading the way with 5.

In the pitching staff, no player has under a 2.00 ERA. Natalee Horton lead the arms in terms of ERA with a 2.71, but has the second fewest amount of innings pitched, 10.1. Julianne Bolton, who has a 4.08 ERA, is the Minutewomen’s pitcher with the most innings under her belt with 24. Following closely behind Bolton is Jessie DiPasquale with 22.2 innings and a 3.71 ERA. Out of four total pitchers, UMass has given up 65 hits, 37 runs, 16 walks and 7 homeruns. Team total in strikeouts is 49.

Colgate Raiders

Coming out of the Patriot Legume, the Colgate Raiders had a subpar year in 2022. A 20-28 recorded ended with a third round loss to Lehigh in the conference tournament. Through 13 games in 2023, they are still sitting below .500 with a 6-7 record. In those 13 games are a loss to Michigan, and a win against Minnesota.

Kara Fusco returns as one of the top batters for Colgate last season. The junior infielder is sporting a .333 batting average on the season with 11 hits, 5 doubles and 9 RBI. Adrienne Nardone has a .276 batting average with 8 hits and 6 total RBI. As a team, Colgate is similar to UMass, not providing a lot of power or speed on offense. Team totals in RBI are 38 with 3 total homeruns, and 8-10 in stolen bases.

Only two pitchers, out of 5 total, have at least 1 inning per game so far for the Raiders. Bailey Misken has a 4.08 ERA in her team leading 36 innings pitched. Against opposing batters, she has given up 35 hits, 23 runs, 18 walks but only 2 homeruns and 32 strikeouts. Her pair in Alexa Acker has a 4.77 ERA in 22 innings. For Acker, she has 27 hits, 21 runs, 12 walks and 1 homerun with 10 strikeouts.

Georgia Southern Eagles

Georgia Southern is the third Sun Belt team that the Seminoles will play this season. Last season, the Eagles finished last in their conference. After falling to Georgia State in the conference tournament, their 13-34 season came to an end. Now at 7-8, they have suffered two losses to Alabama and a home game against South Carolina.

Outfielder Emma Davis is leading the charge offensively for the Eagles this season. As a freshman, Davis has a hefty .391 batting average across 15 games. In 46 at bats she has 18 hits, 3 doubles and 5 RBI with 6 walks. Behind Davis is experienced Redshirt-Junior, Dejah Mills. Mills is batting .390 on the season with 16 hits and 11 RBI. Outside of Mills and Davis, two other players are batting above .300, Courtney Ball and Faith Barth.

In the circle, the Eagles are led by freshman Bailey Holland. In 39.1 innings, Holland is shaping up to be their ace. With a 2.49 ERA, Holland has allowed 38 hits, 22 runs, 4 walks and 23 strikeouts with 3 complete games to her name. In addition to Holland is Florida State transfer, Morgan Kendrick. Kendrick returns to Tallahassee after redshirting her first collegiate season as a Seminole. With the Eagles, Kendrick has a 2.67 ERA in 18.1 innings, with 11 hits, 11 runs, 16 walks and 30 strikeouts.

Seminole Stats

Kathryn Sandercock is the 9th ranked pitcher in D1Softball’s Pitcher and Catcher rankings for week 3. Her stats as of 2/26: 3-2, 2 SV, 1.72 ERA, 32 SO, 3 BB, .201 B/AVG. 40.2 IP. Her 40.2 innings pitched currently sits 7th in the ACC. Also in ACC ranks, Sandercock is 4th in walks allowed (3) and 2nd in saves (3)

Through 18 games last season, FSU was 28-34 in stolen bases, with Devyn Flaherty leading the way at 8-8. Flaherty was 26-29 on the year in 2022. This season, Flaherty is 10-10 on a team that is 39-42 overall on the base paths. She is also 15th in the nation and is 1st in the ACC.

Makenna Reid is 3rd in the ACC in opposing batting average, with teams batting only .125 against Reid. She is also 1st in the ACC in hits allowed (8), 2nd in runs allowed (4), 6th in earned runs (4), 1st in walks allowed (1) and 1st in doubles allowed (1). Nationally, she is 5th in K/7 innings (12.5), 19th in BB/7 innings (.37), 11th in K/BB (34.0) and 10th H/7 innings.

Stats comparison

Batting average: UMass (.198), GSU (.254), Colgate (.231), FSU (.323)

ERA: UMass (3.98), GSU (3.69), Colgate (4.36), FSU (1.96)

On base percentage: UMass (.270), GSU (.353), Colgate (.344), FSU (.421)

Scoring: UMass (2.67), GSU (4.20), Colgate (3.46), FSU (6.22)

Where to watch

Friday March 3rd

• UMass - 2:30 PM ACCNX
• Colgate - 4:45 PM ACCNX

Saturday March 4th

• Georgia Southern - 12:15 PM ACCNX
• Colgate - 2:30 PM ACCNX

Sunday March 5th

• Georgia Southern - 11:15 AM ACCNX