RALEIGH, N.C. — Redshirt senior Kylee Hanson continued her impressive season for the Garnet and Gold, tossing a complete-game no-hitter on Saturday for No. 11 Florida State (43-10, 20-3 ACC) as the Seminoles won the season series over NC State (23-30, 5-17 ACC) with a 5-0 victory at Dail Stadium.
Hanson scattered three walks and recorded seven strikeouts in the win to improve to 25-4 on the season. The best chance the Wolfpack had to get in the hit column came in the bottom of the fourth inning when FSU centerfielder Morgan Klaevemann ranged over 100 feet to make a catch on the run in left center to rob an extra-base hit from Lily Bishop.
“It was all defense today and a total team effort,” said Hanson. “I couldn’t have done it without the people behind me and I’m not sure there’s much more I can say about it. Morgan and Syd made some incredible plays and everyone else made the routine ones. It was awesome.”
It is the second time the Seminoles have recorded a no-hitter in 2018, as Hanson joins Meghan King and Cassidy Davis who combined for perfect game against Northern Iowa on February 23. It is Hanson’s fourth career no-hitter, as the All-American pitcher had three previous no-no’s at Florida Atlantic.
It marks the fifth year in a row that the Seminoles have won 20 conference games in a season and Florida State is the only school in league history to win 20 ACC games in a single year, holding the ACC record of 24 wins in 2014 and 2017.
“Proud of the team win today,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “Proud of the cohesion we have going right now as a team as we roll into postseason play. It is really neat to see everyone playing as a team out there. Kylee pitched great, we played great defense and did a lot of good things on the bases and in the box. Really proud of Jessie Warren on the season and career she is having and of the program as a whole. We are in a good spot as we roll into the postseason.”
Jessie Warren wasted no time in putting the Seminoles on the board, launching a solo home run to right center to lead off the FSU first inning. It marked her 15th home run of the season and 77th of her career, ranking 11th all-time in NCAA history.
Carsyn Gordon followed with a walk and the Noles got runners on the corners after a batted ball from Sydney Sherrill was misplayed for an error. Gordon came in to score on a wild pitch as Florida State took a 2-0 lead to the bottom of the first.
FSU added two more runs in the second inning to extend its lead to 4-0. Sabrina Stutsmanopened the frame with a single to right and Klaevemann followed with a bunt single in front of the plate. Warren was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Gordon’s second walk of the game forced home a run. Zoe Casas drove in the second run of the inning on a groundout to second base, but it was deep enough to score Klaevemann from third.
Klaevemann hit a one-out bunt single in the FSU sixth and dashed to third on a single to right by Warren. Deja Bush entered to pinch-run at first and quickly stole second for her 12th SB of the season. Gordon made it 5-0 Seminoles with an RBI single to center.
The Seminoles and Wolfpack will conclude their series on Sunday, May 6 with a game at 12:00 p.m. Tickets are available at www.gopack.com and the game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra. Links for video and live stats will be available on the softball schedule page of Seminoles.com.
