NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the first time in 2016, No. 9/8 Florida State (27-4, 7-1 ACC) dropped a conference game as the Noles and Irish split a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Melissa Cook Stadium. FSU posted a 14-5 victory over No. 22/20 Notre Dame (26-6, 5-3 ACC) in game one, and fell 5-4 in game two as Bailey Bigler hit a walk-off single.
The loss snapped FSU’s winning streak at 22 games, ranking as the fourth-longest streak in school history. It also marked the first loss in ACC play since April 12, 2015, a streak of 14 consecutive conference wins, tied for the second-longest streak in FSU history.
“Notre Dame is a solid team and these games will give us things to work on and experience to build on for the postseason,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “We swung the bat well in the first game, and after giving up some early runs, JB closed out the game very well. In game two, we struggled in some situations but kept in it and Ellie did great to battle and tie it up late. We weren’t able to make all the plays toward the end and we came up short.”
Powers carried the Seminoles in game one, batting 4-for-4 with five RBI, four runs scored and a pair of home runs. It marked the first time the Noles had a player with multiple home runs in a game since Jessica Warren at Cal State Northridge on March 5, 2016.
Florida State scored three runs in the second inning to open the scoring in game one. Powers led off with a double and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly from Zoe Casas. Carsyn Gordon added an RBI single and she came into score on stolen base by Victoria East when the catcher’s throw was wild.
Notre Dame fought back in the bottom of the second and plated its first run with an RBI single from Megan Sorlie. The Irish added another run on a wild pitch from FSU starter Jessica Burroughs to cut the lead to 3-2.
The Noles added three more in the top of the third on a two-run home run by Warren and an RBI single by Sydney Broderick.
The Irish got within a run yet again in the bottom of the third, as Micaela Arizmendi lifted a three-run home run over the wall in left to make it a 6-5 FSU advantage.
Burroughs and the FSU defense settled in the rest of the way as the redshirt junior pitcher retired 15 of the last 16 batters she faced, allowing just a single to Sorlie in the sixth over the final five frames. She improved to 16-2 on the year with the complete-game victory, giving up five runs on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
Florida State continued to score in bunches, tallying two runs in the fifth on a two-run home run by Powers. In the sixth, Powers added a three-run shot and Harrod came into score off a ND throwing error to complete the four-run inning.
The Noles finished their scoring in the top of the seventh, bringing in two runs on an RBI double by Harrod and another score on another Notre Dame error for the final score of 14-5.
The 14 runs scored against No. 22 Notre Dame marks the most runs scored by Florida State against a ranked team in the eight seasons under Alameda.
In game two, Notre Dame took a quick lead as leadoff hitter Karley Wester hit a triple to left and later came in to score on an FSU throwing error. FSU starter Meghan King got out of the jam by striking out the final two batters of the inning.
FSU equalized in the top of the third, loading the bases on walks to Morgan Klaevemann, Ellie Cooper and Powers. Broderick drove in a run to tie the game after reaching on a catcher’s interference.
Notre Dame took the lead in the bottom of the fifth as the Irish opened the inning with three singles, including an RBI base hit from Kimmy Sullivan. A two-RBI triple from Bigler gave ND a 4-1 lead.
The Noles tied the game in the sixth after loading the bases on walks to Gordon and Cali Harrod, along with an infield single by Klaevemann. Cooper drilled a two-out, three-run triple into the right field corner to tie the game at 4-4.
Notre Dame used singles in the seventh from Sullivan, Sorlie and Bigler to earn the 5-4 walk-off victory.
King (11-2) took the loss after giving up five runs, 11 hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
Notre Dame’s Allie Rhodes improved to 12-4 on the year with the complete game victory, scattering seven hits, four runs, three earned with six walks and nine strikeouts.
The Seminoles return home to JoAnne Graf Field this week for a non-conference contest against Jacksonville on Wednesday, April 6 at 6:00 p.m. The game will be available with a live radio feed, as well as live stats, on Seminoles.com.
