TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Despite two teams that have each set single-season home run records for their programs, the opening game of the NCAA Tallahassee Super Regional ended up as a pitcher’s duel on Thursday night as FSU’s Meghan King and OSU’s Samantha Show controlled the circle for nine innings before No. 13 Oklahoma State (43-14) earned a 3-1 win over No. 4 Florida State (54-9) in front of 1,331 fans at JoAnne Graf Field.
“Good, hard-fought ballgame tonight, just like Super Regionals are supposed to be,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “Both pitchers pitched a really good game and they took advantage of a few things and we didn’t really make adjustments like we usually do. So now it is on to tomorrow and making the adjustments that we need to.
“We have been in this position many times and we know what it is like. If we are able to flush it, which I know our upperclassmen know how to do and learn from today, take our information from what we saw with (Samantha Show) and move forward.”
Dani Morgan opened the bottom of the second inning with a double to center and Anna Shelnutt followed with a single to left. Makinzy Herzog put the Noles on the board with an infield RBI single for her ninth RBI of the NCAA postseason.
A walk to Carsyn Gordon and an Oklahoma State error put Seminole runners on second and third with one out in the third inning, but a line drive up the middle was snagged by OSU’s Show to start an inning-ending double play.
King retired the first 11 batters she faced, recording seven strikeouts, before the Cowgirls earned their first baserunner with a two-out single in the top of the fourth inning. A pop out to Gordon ended the inning.
The Noles got another runner to third base in the fourth inning as Shelnutt led off with a single to center and was pinch-run for by Deja Bush. A pair of groundouts moved Bush to third base, but she was left stranded to end the inning.
Oklahoma State tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the sixth inning. Chelsea Alexander hit a leadoff double to left center and moved to third with a single. A sacrifice fly by Madi Sue Montgomery squared the game.
After two scoreless frames of extra innings, Oklahoma State began the top of the ninth inning with a double from Montgomery. Michaela Richbourg followed with a two-run home run to right field to put the Cowgirls in front 3-1.
The Seminoles were retired in order in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
King (29-6) took the loss, giving up three runs on six hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts. It marked the sixth time this season, and the ninth time in her career, that King has recorded 10+ strikeouts.
Kathryn Sandercock pitched 1.0 innings of relief and allowed one base hit.
The Seminoles and Cowgirls will play game two of the best-of-three series on Friday, May 24 at 7:00 p.m. If Oklahoma State wins on Friday, it will advance to the 2019 Women’s College World Series. If Florida State wins Friday’s game, it will force a winner-take-all series finale on Saturday, May 25 at 12:00 p.m. All remaining games in the series will be air nationally on ESPN and links for the broadcast, tickets and live stats will be available on the softball schedule page of Seminoles.com.
Fans can listen to the FSU softball coaching staff, head coach Lonni Alameda and assistant coaches Travis Wilson and Craig Snider, on their weekly podcast: Coaches and Coffee – The FSU Softball Podcast. Each week, the coaches talk about the current state of the Seminole softball team, chat about NCAA softball from around the country, and have a lot of fun along the way. The podcast can be found on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, or directly at our website – fsusoftballpodc
