TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Making her first appearance in an ACC game, Kylee Hanson looked right at home in her new conference as the redshirt senior recorded 10 strikeouts in a complete-game victory for No. 15 Florida State (19-6, 1-0 ACC) in a 2-0 win over Virginia Tech (11-13, 1-3 ACC) on Friday night at JoAnne Graf Field.
Sydney Sherrill’s two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning proved to be the difference in a game that had just six combined hits from the two teams.
The win increases Florida State’s ACC winning streak to 27 games, dating back to 2016. Only nine players on the current 22-member FSU softball roster have ever lost an ACC game as the Seminoles have won the ACC regular season title in each of the last five seasons.
“Kylee had a great performance today and she is just getting better and better every time out,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “Offensively, it took us a while to get going, but we were able to make adjustments each inning, so it was a little later in the game that we got our swings off. But it just takes one person. The game doesn’t know if it is a freshman, an All-American or a slapper, and the whole team is buying into that one-pitch mentality.”
Florida State threatened in the fourth inning, putting runners on second and third after a walk to Carsyn Gordon, a single by Anna Shelnutt and a groundout, but both were left on base as the game remained tied at 0-0.
The Seminoles broke through in the bottom of the fifth inning as Sydney Sherrill hit her fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot to left center to give Florida State a 2-0 lead. Leslie Farris reached on a Virginia Tech fielding error to lead off the inning and was replaced at first base on a fielder’s choice by Cali Harrod. Harrod scored on the home run for her team-leading 19th run scored this season.
FSU starting pitcher Kylee Hanson was outstanding in the circle on Friday night, striking out six of the first eight batters she faced and did not allow a base hit until a one-out single by Caroline Schoenewald in the top of the fourth inning. Hanson improved to 10-3 on the season, scattering three hits and two walks with 10 total strikeouts.
Hanson has not allowed a run in her last 24.1 innings and has only allowed two runners to even reach second base during that span. She currently leads the ACC with a 0.84 ERA and is limiting opponents to a .135 batting average.
The Seminoles and Hokies will play game two of the series on Saturday, March 17 at 1:00 p.m. Saturday’s game will be the primary celebration of Alumni Weekend with several announcements and honors given throughout the game. Links for live stats and FSU Softball Radio will be available on the softball schedule page of Seminoles.com.
Admission is free for all regular season home games at JoAnne Graf Field, with reserved premium seating behind home plate available through the Seminole Boosters. For more information on the premium seating, contact Alex Douglas at adouglas2@fsu.edu.
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