CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Scoring in all five innings at the plate, No. 3 Florida State (35-3, 8-1 ACC) finished a season sweep at Virginia (16-17, 5-7 ACC) with a 16-3 win on Sunday at The Park. It was the second consecutive sweep for the Seminoles this season and the 38th conference sweep over the last 52 ACC series, dating back to 2012.
The Seminoles hit three home runs on Sunday to increase their 2019 total to 63, which is tied for fourth in FSU single-season history, matching the output from the 2016 team that finished as NCAA semifinalists at the Women’s College World Series. The school record is 76 that was set during the 2018 season.
Florida State tallied seven home runs on the weekend at Virginia and of its 33 hits, 19 of them went for extra bases, along with 11 doubles and one triple.
Meghan King improved to 18-1 on the season and allowed just one baserunner over 3.0 innings on a single in the first inning and finished with six strikeouts. She extended her scoreless streak to 26.2 innings over her last seven appearances.
“Nice way to close out the weekend,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “We took advantage of some early opportunities and made things hard for Virginia. Good to be able to see some kids in different spots and situations at the plate and in the field, and that will come in huge for us down the road. Now we get to head home and prepare for Florida on Wednesday.”
Dani Morgan put the Seminoles on the board with a three-run double in the top of the first, scoring Cali Harrod and Elizabeth Mason who walked earlier in the inning, along with Sydney Sherrill who hit an infield single. It was the 27th time this season that the Seminoles have scored a run in the first inning and Florida State has tallied a total of 86 first-inning runs in 2019.
The Seminoles added five more runs in the top of the second to take an 8-0 lead. Anna Shelnutt was hit by the first pitch of the inning, while Harrod and Carsyn Gordon hit a pair of singles to load the bases with one out. Sherrill followed with an RBI single to right and Mason hit a ground-rule double to left to bring in two more runs. Makinzy Herzog closed out the scoring in the inning with a two-run single to left field.
Gordon made it 10-0 with a two-run home run in the top of the third inning, scoring Harrod who reached on a UVA throwing error.
Florida State brought in five more runs in the fourth inning on a pair of home runs from Cassidy Davis and Harrod. After Mason led off the inning with her second double of the game, Davis hit a pinch-hit home run to center for her sixth HR of the season. Deja Bushreached on another UVA error and Morgan Noah reached on a fielder’s choice and both scored on Harrod’s team-leading 11th home run of the season to make it 15-0 Seminoles.
Kara Bilodeau replaced King in the circle to start the bottom of the fourth inning and the sophomore issued a one-out walk, followed by a two-run home run by Olivia Gott.
The Noles loaded the bases in the top of the fifth on a walks by Davis and Savannah Parker, along with a single by Herzog. Noah drove in her sixth RBI of the season on a single up the middle to make it 16-2 Seminoles.
Davis pitched the fifth inning for Florida State and allowed an unearned run, giving up just one hit.
Next up for Florida State is the first of two games in the annual Fresh From Florida Sunshine Showdown against No. 6 Florida (29-7). The Noles and Gators will play in Gainesville on Wednesday, April 3 at 7:00 p.m., and the game will air nationally on ESPN2. 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.
