TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State had another strong showing on Day 2 of the 2018 ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge on Saturday as the No. 8 Seminoles (7-1) started the afternoon with a convincing 9-3 win over No. 14 Minnesota, while a first-inning run proved to be the difference in Michigan’s 1-0 win over FSU to close out the night.
“Completely excited about the energy of the team,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “This was an amazing environment, our fans were outstanding and it was a great atmosphere to play what felt like postseason softball in February. Both Meghan’s pitched a great game tonight, but you have to tip your hat to Beaubien. Michigan took some hacks and she pitched a great game for them and that’s why we want to play the ACC/Big Ten Challenge to get yourself these good at bats. I’m really proud of our team to have the fight in the seventh inning, so I’m excited about tomorrow and being able to make some adjustments.”
Game 1: No. 8 Florida State 9, No. 14 Minnesota 3
The Seminoles opened the scoring in the top of the second against Minnesota with an RBI single by Zoe Casas. She brought in Cali Harrod who reached on a Minnesota throwing error and moved up to third on the play.
FSU made it 2-0 in the third inning with a solo home run by Carsyn Gordon to left field. The junior first baseman worked a 10-pitch at bat, and capped it off with her third home run of the season.
A leadoff single by Minnesota’s Erika Rozell sparked a run for the Gophers in the bottom of the third, as an FSU fielding error continued the frame and an RBI single by Sydney Dwyer cut the Seminole lead to 2-1 after three innings.
The Seminoles broke out for four runs in the top of the fourth inning, highlighted by a three-run home run by Anna Shelnutt, scoring Sydney Sherrill and Dani Morgan who led off the inning with a single and a double, respectively. Morgan Klaevemann followed with a walk and came around to score an unearned run on a throwing error by Minnesota starting pitcher Sydney Smith.
Redshirt senior Kylee Hanson had an outstanding outing in the circle, improving to 4-0 on the season, giving up just one run in her 5.0 innings of work. She recorded eight strikeouts and allowed just one unearned run on a walk and two hits.
Tessa Daniels came in to pitch the sixth inning for the Noles, and gave up a walk and a double to the first two batters she faced. An RBI groundout and an RBI single to right shrank the Seminole lead to 6-3 after six innings.
A leadoff single in the FSU seventh by Sherrill, her fourth base hit of the day, along with a single by Shelnutt set the stage for a pinch-hit, three-run home run by sophomore Cassidy Davis.
Davis stayed in the game to pitch a scoreless seventh inning, giving up just one hit and posting a strikeout to close out the 9-3 victory.
Game 2: No. 20 Michigan 1, No. 8 Florida State 0
Michigan found all the offense it needed in the first inning, as Faith Canfield led off the game with a double to right center and came in to score on an RBI single by Tera Blanco.
FSU starter Meghan King settled in an retired the next eight batters before allowing a double and a hit-by-pitch to put a pair of Wolverines on with one out in the inning. Gordon made a pair of impressive defensive plays to end the inning unscathed, tracking down a pop fly in foul territory and also making a clean pick on ball in the dirt for a force out at first.
The Wolverines threatened again in the sixth inning on a walk and a hit-by-pitch with one out, but King got out of the jam by deflecting a ball up the middle to Sherrill, who stepped on second and fired to first to complete the inning-ending double play.
Michigan starting pitcher Meghan Beaubien was perfect through 6.1 innings, retiring the first 19 batters she faced, including six strikeouts. Jessie Warren broke up the no-hit bid with a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh and Cali Harrod followed with a two-out base hit to center. A wild pitch moved the winning run to second base, but Beaubien’s seventh strikeout ended the game.
King (3-1) took the loss after allowing just one run and four hits over 7.0 innings with one walk and four strikeouts.
The Seminoles close out the 2018 ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge on Sunday, February 18 with a game against Michigan at 1:00 p.m. The game has been moved from its original 12:30 p.m. start time due to a makeup game between Notre Dame and Michigan that will be played earlier in the day. Live stats will be available on Seminoles.com and there will be a live radio broadcast on Shoutcast.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.
