TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A record crowd of 1,712 came to JoAnne Graf Field on Wednesday night to see a pair of games between two of the top five teams in the country. No. 5 Florida State (42-7) was defeated 7-1 by No. 1 Florida (49-4) in the first regularly scheduled game, before falling 1-0, in 12 innings, as the Noles and Gators completed a halted game from April 13.
“Definitely a unique situation, having the halted game and playing two games,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “(UF’s) Gourley pitched a really good game and had us off-balance quite a bit there in the first game. A few little base running things and we are right there in it, so I think there are a lot of good things we can take from it.
“JB pitched such a good game down there and it was her game to win or lose. She got out of that first inning, which was huge for us. They are the number one team in the country, and there is a reason why they’re the number one team. Any time you have a chance to play them, it makes you better. Today was huge for us and I’m really proud of the girls.”
GAME ONE (May 4) – Florida 7, Florida State 1
Florida took a 3-0 lead in the third inning of game one as Kelsey Stewart led off the inning with a single to left. She ended up on third after stealing second base as well as an FSU throwing error and came into score on an RBI single by Kayli Kvistad. Janell Wheaton added a two-run double with two outs to make it 3-0 Gators.
Florida added a run in the fourth inning on a solo home run by Taylore Fuller. UF’s Delanie Gourley held the Seminole offense in check through the first four innings, retiring the first 13 batters she faced. FSU got runners into scoring position in the fifth inning after a walk from Sydney Broderick, a fielding error off the bat of Zoe Casas and a wild pitch put runners at second and third with one out. Both would be left stranded after a fielder’s choice and a line out.
The Noles managed a pair of baserunners with one out in the sixth on a single from Morgan Klaevemann and a hit-by-pitch to Ellie Cooper. However, a line out and a strikeout kept FSU off the scoreboard.
FSU starter Meghan King retired UF in order in the fifth and sixth innings, and had the Gators down to their final out in the seventh before an RBI double from Nicole DeWitt made it 5-0 UF. A walk and a two-RBI double from Aubree Munro pushed the lead out to 7-0.
Casas got a run back for the Seminoles in the bottom of the seventh on a solo home run, her fourth of the season, but that would be all that Florida State could muster as the Noles fell 7-1.
King (19-3) allowed seven runs on nine hits with four walks and two strikeouts in the complete game.
UF’s Gourley improved to 17-3 with the win, surrendering two hits, one run with two walks and 10 strikeouts.
GAME TWO (April 13) – Florida 1, Florida State 0 (12 innings)
In the conclusion of the game that began in Gainesville on April 13, Florida came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with runners on second and third with one out and the score tied at 0-0.
FSU’s King was in the circle for the Noles and issued an intentional walk to Munro to load the bases. Jessica Burroughs, the original starter in the game on April 13, re-entered the game to pitch in the circle. Burroughs got out of the jam and extended the game with strikeouts to Fuller and Aleshia Ocasio.
Ocasio pitched for the Gators and retired the first five batters she faced in the extra game before allowing a single to Alex Powers in the top of the 11th. A groundout to the pitcher left her stranded.
Burroughs allowed a leadoff walk to Amanda Lorenz in the bottom of the 11th, but she was retired at second on a steal attempt by a perfect strike from Broderick to Cali Harrod. Burroughs induced a pair of groundouts to short to send the game to the 12th inning.
Broderick led off the Seminole 12th inning with a walk and was replaced at first on a fielder’s choice by Casas, and Casas received the same fate on a fielder’s choice from Carsyn Gordon. In a hit and run situation with Lauren Harris at the plate, Gordon stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error from the UF catcher Munroe.
Alex Kossoff pinch-hit for Harris in the middle of the at bat and nearly drove in Gordon with a slap in the air behind the circle. UF’s Ocasio made a nice leaping catch to snag the ball and end the inning.
Ocasio was the hero for the Gators in the bottom of the 12th, hitting the first pitch of her at bat down the right field line for a home run, giving Florida the 1-0 win.
Ocasio (14-1) tossed 7.0 innings of scoreless relief in the win, allowing just one hit and one walk with six strikeouts.
Burroughs took the loss after tossing a career-high 10.1 innings, giving up just three hits, one run with four walks and nine strikeouts.
The Seminoles are back in action on Thursday, May 5 as FSU hosts Florida A&M at 6:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Seminole Softball Radio with Robin Ahrberg and Maddie O’Brien on the call. Live stats will also be available on Seminoles.com.
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.
