TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — With all five seniors in the starting lineup on Sunday, the Seminoles celebrated Senior Day with a victory as No. 6 Florida State (45-8, 16-5 ACC) posted an 8-1 win over Duke (25-30, 11-13 ACC) to secure the season sweep over the Blue Devils.
There was an on-field ceremony before the game to celebrate the five seniors on the team – Deja Bush, Zoe Casas, Carsyn Gordon, Cali Harrod and Meghan King – as they have combined for a 213-48-1 record during their time at FSU, with three ACC Championships, two trips to the Women’s College World Series and the 2018 NCAA National Championship.
Harrod’s solo home run in the bottom of the first on Sunday set a pair of milestones for the Seminoles, as it marked the 100th first-inning run scored by FSU in 2019. It also was the 77th home run of the year, setting a single-season school record by surpassing the total of 76 from 2018.
“This senior class has been so special and our team and fans have all been a part of their growth over their four years here,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “It was great to have so many people here before the game to recognize what they have done for the program and share in that moment. Meghan settled in and pitched another strong game in the circle and we had several key swings with two outs to drive in some runs. Can’t believe we only have one week left of the regular season before the ACC Tournament gets started.”
Duke scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. The first two batters each hit a single and moved to second and third on a wild pitch. An FSU error allowed a runner to score and King retired the next three batters to end the inning.
Harrod quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first inning as she led off the frame with a solo home run to right field.
FSU scored three runs in the bottom of the third as Elizabeth Mason hit a two-run home run to center, followed by a solo home run by Dani Morgan. It was the sixth time this season that the Seminoles have hit back-to-back home runs, and the first since Carsyn Gordon and Sydney Sherrill at Grand Canyon on March 6.
The Noles scored three runs, all with two outs, in the bottom of the fifth to push the lead to 7-1. After a Mason walk, Morgan lined an RBI double to right center and scored on an RBI single by Casas. Following a single from Makinzy Herzog, Leslie Farris posted her second hit of the day with an RBI single to left.
King retired 11 in a row from the second to the fifth innings, but the Blue Devils were able to string together a trio of singles in the top of the sixth to load the bases with two outs. King ended the inning with her ninth strikeout of the game.
Cassidy Davis hit a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the sixth for the 8-1 final score.
Kathryn Sandercock entered to pitch the final out of the game as King tossed 6.2 innings in the win to improve to 24-5 on the season. She scattered six hits and did not allow a walk, as she posted nine strikeouts.
Florida State will close out the 2019 regular season with a three-game series at Syracuse (20-28, 8-13 ACC) on May 3-5. The games will air on ACC Network Extra and links for the broadcast 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 – fsusoftballpodcast.wordpress.com.
Throughout 2018-19, the Seminoles will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of women’s intercollegiate athletics at Florida State and there are many events and reunions planned for all women’s sports. Head to www.seminoles.com/50th/ for more information that will be updated throughout the year.
Follow Florida State softball on Twitter (@FSU_Softball) and Instagram (fsusoftball), and like our Facebook page (Facebook.com/FSUsoftball) to keep up to date with everything about Seminole softball.
