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No. 10 FSU Earns Run-Rule Win Over Louisville On Senior Day

No. 10 FSU Earns Run-Rule Win Over Louisville On Senior Day
No. 10 FSU Earns Run-Rule Win Over Louisville On Senior Day
Posted at 12:15 AM, Apr 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-23 00:15:00-04

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Celebrating the outstanding careers of Kylee HansonMorgan KlaevemannKorina Rosario and Jessie Warren – along with student managers Katie Baker and Taylor Zitello – prior to the game, No. 10 Florida State (38-8, 15-2 ACC) made it a Senior Day to remember with an 8-0 win in five innings over Louisville (28-16, 7-9 ACC) on Sunday afternoon. It is the 15th run-rule victory for the Seminoles this season and the fourth in ACC play in 2018.

The victory clinches the season series for Florida State, marking the 47th-straight conference series without a loss for the Noles. The last conference series loss for FSU was on May 5-6, 2012 at Maryland.

The Seminoles recorded their third consecutive shutout and 16th of the season on Sunday. The Florida State pitching staff has not allowed a run in the last 24.2 innings and only three opponent runners have reached third base during that span.

“It is always awesome to celebrate careers, and granted we are not done playing yet, but it is a chance to love up the parents and the families that have been supporting these players throughout their time here, as well as growing up in travel ball and high school,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “Getting on the board early today was important and gave us a comfort zone. Meghan King had a great day in the circle and we played some good defense in big moments, so it all really came together today.

“We took the series, but tomorrow will be a big one for us against Hensley. To see if we can make the same adjustments we did toward the end of yesterday’s game a little earlier tomorrow. It is going to be a good battle and I’m really proud of the kids and it has been a great weekend so far.”

The Seminoles opened the scoring in the first inning without recording a hit as Louisville starter Danielle Watson issued a total of four walks in the inning. FSU loaded the bases on walks to Carsyn GordonSydney Sherrill and Jessie Warren with one out and Elizabeth Mason’s RBI fielder’s choice put the Noles up 1-0.

FSU improved to 21-0 when scoring in the first inning and 33-0 overall this season when it is the first team to score. It also marked the 50th run scored in the first inning in 2018, the highest total of any inning this season.

Florida State scored three runs in the second inning, all with two outs, to break the game open. Zoe Casas was hit by a pitch and Gordon followed with her second walk of the game. Sydney Sherrill drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI double, her 24th 2B of the season, which ranks in a tie for fourth in a season in ACC history and a tie for 30th in NCAA single-season history.

Warren extended the FSU lead to 4-0, bringing in a pair with a single to center to close out the scoring in the Seminole second inning.

Louisville got its first hit of the game in the top of the third inning on a pair of infield singles by Sidney Melton and Maddy Newman, but FSU starting pitcher Meghan King quickly got out of the inning as the next pitch was hit to Warren at third to begin an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.

Mason made it 6-0 Florida State with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, launching her fourth HR of the season to left, scoring Warren who reached on a hit-by-pitch.

Morgan Klaevemann drew a one-out walk in the FSU fifth and moved up to second on a wild pitch. Mackenzie Puckett drew a walk on a pinch-hit appearance and was pinch-run for by Dani Morgan. It is the third plate appearance for Puckett on the season and the freshman has walked each time.

A passed ball moved Klaevemann to third and Morgan stole second base later in the inning and both came in to score on a two-run single up the middle by Gordon to clinch the run-rule victory.

King improved to 14-5 on the season, allowing just two hits and a walk, while finishing with seven strikeouts in 5.0 shutout innings.

The Seminoles and Cardinals conclude their series on Monday, April 23 with a nationally-televised game at 7:00 p.m. on ESPNU. Admission is free and broadcast links for TV and FSU Softball Radio, along with live stats, will be available on the softball schedule page of Seminoles.com.