TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Using late-game heroics in game one and a steady, controlling effort in game two, No. 9 Florida State (22-5, 5-0 ACC) earned a pair of victories over Notre Dame (14-11, 0-5 ACC) on Saturday at JoAnne Graf Field. Freshman Jessica Warren hit a three-run, walk-off home run in the seventh inning in game one. The Seminoles earned a 4-1 victory over the Irish. Florida State added 10 hits in game two as it posted a 7-3 win against Notre Dame to secure the series win.
“Two wins are huge for us and taking the series against any conference foe is important,” said head coach Lonni Alameda. “We have a lot of respect for Notre Dame and what they do and will have to play quality softball again tomorrow to be successful.
“Jessica’s had some big responsibilities at the top of the lineup and has done a great job with Coach Wilson and Coach Snider on having a plan and staying true to who she is as a hitter. It is fun to watch her play.”
In game one, Notre Dame started off the scoring in the second inning. Emilee Koerner led off the inning with a double. She moved up on a wild pitch to the next batter, Cassidy Whidden.
Whidden stole second base later in the inning and a throwing error from Macey Cheatham went into centerfield, allowing Koerner to score from third.
Florida State managed to tie it up in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI single from Alex Powers to score Warren, who had reached on a fielder’s choice.
The game remained a pitcher’s duel until the very end. FSU starter Lacey Waldrop surrendered just one base hit over the final 4.1 innings of the game, scattering three walks as she kept the Irish off the board.
Rachel Nasland pitched an impressive game for Notre Dame, limiting the Seminoles to just two hits over the first six innings. She had retired 11 Florida State batters in a row from the third inning until the seventh inning.
The Seminoles came to the plate in the seventh with the game tied at 1-1. Back-to-back one-out singles by Alex Kossoff and Morgan Klaevemann put runners on for FSU. A strikeout brought up Warren with two outs, who entered the game leading the team in batting average and hits.
It didn’t take Warren long to end the game as she blasted an 0-1 pitch inside the left field foul pole for a walk-off three-run home run. It was her fifth home run of the season, pushing her into second place on the team with 20 RBI.
Waldrop improved to 14-3 with the complete-game win in the circle, tossing six strikeouts and allowing five hits, four walks and one unearned run over 7.0 innings.
The run she allowed in the second inning ended a streak 30.2 shutout innings, dating back to Boston College on March 1. She maintains her streak of not allowing an earned run to 45.1 innings, lowering her ERA to 0.63 for the season.
Nasland took the loss and moved to 6-6 on the season, allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts over 6.2 innings.
Warren stayed hot on offense, leading off game two with an extra base hit. The freshman third baseman led off the FSU first with a double to right center and ended up on third as the right fielder bobbled the ball.
After a walk to Maddie O’Brien, Warren came in to score on a wild pitch by ND starter Allie Rhodes to make it 1-0 Florida State after one inning. O’Brien had two walks in each game and now has 34 for the season.
The Noles added to their lead in the third, loading the bases on walks to O’Brien and Powers, as well as a single by Bailey Schinella. Victoria East lifted a ball to right field that appeared destined to be an RBI sacrifice fly, but Notre Dame’s Megan Sorlie couldn’t make the catch, allowing not only O’Brien to score, but also Katie Baker on the fielding error, who pinch ran for Powers.
The Noles used five straight hits in the fifth to extend their lead to 7-0 as they brought 10 batters to the plate in the inning. Victoria East started things off with a single to center which was followed by a single from Klaevemann and an RBI double by Amy Szymanowski.
Ellie Cooper laid down a perfect bunt to score Klaevemann, and got herself into a rundown between first and second, allowing Szymanowski to score on the play as well to make it 6-0 Florida State.
A single by Warren prompted Notre Dame to make a pitching change, chasing starter Allie Rhodes from the game. Katie Beriont replaced Rhodes (6-4), who took the loss and finished 4.1 innings pitched, allowing nine hits, seven runs, six earned with five walks and four strikeouts. Berinot pitched the final 1.2 innings and gave up just one hit, walked three and recorded one strikeout.
Walks to Kossoff and Powers later in the fifth loaded the bases for Schinella and she brought in the seventh Seminole run of the game on an RBI walk.
Pitcher Jessica Burroughs allowed just four hits over the first five innings to the Irish, and got out of a bases-loaded jam by throwing out Whidden at the plate on a delayed steal attempt in the fifth.
The Irish scored three runs in the sixth, as Katey Haus and Micaela Arizmendi reached on walks and a three-run home run to left by Whidden plated the only Notre Dame runs of the game.
Schinella came out to pitch a scoreless seventh, replacing Burroughs (8-2) who earned the win after tossing 6.0 innings and giving up five hits, three runs, three walks and recording four strikeouts.
Florida State will close out the series with Notre Dame with a game on Sunday, March 15 at 12 p.m. The game will be part of the Seminoles’ Salute Sunday initiative to honor current and former military members as through the month of March. Janet Wells, a World War II veteran with the U.S. Navy, will be on hand to throw out the first pitch.
***FSU Athletics
