TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Extending its winning streak to 11 games, No. 14 Florida State (23-6) put on an offensive show in a pair of doubleheader victories over Troy (17-12). The Seminoles defeated the Trojans in six innings in each game, posting a 12-2 win in game one and a 9-1 victory in game two on Wednesday night at JoAnne Graf Field.
For the day, FSU tallied eight extra-base hits on three doubles, a triple and four home runs, including a career-high two home runs and six RBI in game one by sophomore Cassidy Davis. In all, seven different Seminoles recorded an RBI on the day and nine total players reached base.
“When you are coming off an ACC series, these midweek games can be tough,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “You are a little tired and you have to figure out how to make that happen. We had some good swings by a lot of people and a lot of opportunities off the bench, too. Definitely a good pair of wins tonight.”
Game 1: No. 14 Florida State 12, Troy 2 (6 Innings)
Home runs were the name of the game in the opener of Wednesday’s doubleheader, as the Seminoles got on the board with a solo home run by Elizabeth Mason in the bottom of the second inning.
Troy came back to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning as a one-out walk and double put Trojans on second and third and Madeline Porter drove them both on a single up the middle. FSU starter Meghan King got out of the inning with a pop out and a strikeout.
After King added a pair of strikeouts in the top of the fourth inning, Davis hit her first home run of the game in the bottom of the inning, a two-run shot to center to score Deja Bush, who pinch ran after a single by Anna Shelnutt.
Sydney Sherrill hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 5-2 game, scoring Carsyn Gordon who reached on a walk. Later in the inning, Zoe Casas reached on an infield single to the pitcher and scored on a two-out single to left by Davis.
The Seminoles plated six runs in the bottom of the sixth to secure the run-rule victory. Leslie Farris led off the inning with a single up the middle and after a walk to Cali Harrod, an RBI double to right center by Gordon scored Farris for a 7-2 lead. Sherrill drove a two-run single up the middle and a walk to Shelnutt set the stage for Davis to end the game with a three-run home run off the Seminole head at the top of the scoreboard in right center for a 12-2 victory.
King (10-3) retired the final eight batters she faced and finished with seven strikeouts over 6.0 innings in the complete-game victory. She scattered seven hits and one walk and gave up two runs.
Game 2: No. 14 Florida State 9, Troy 1 (6 Innings)
The Seminoles quickly took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but did not record a hit as Troy starter Annie Willis issued three walks, along with a Trojan fielding error in the frame. Mason drew a bases-loaded walk to force home an unearned run and put FSU in front.
FSU starting pitcher Kylee Hanson posted a 1-2-3 inning in the first, but allowed a leadoff walk in the second inning to Stephanie Snyder. A two-out double by Kaylee Hussey put Troy runners on second and third, before the redshirt senior got out of the inning with a fly out to center. It marked the first time in 32.0 innings that Hanson had allowed an opposing base runner to reach third base, dating back to March 2.
A one-out walk to Sherrill in the bottom of the third sparked four consecutive hits, including an RBI double by Mason and RBI singles by Shelnutt and Casas to give the Noles a 4-0 lead.
The Trojans threatened again in the top of the fourth as Katie Webb led off with a double to right center, and a single by Snyder put runners on the corners with nobody out. Hanson struck out the next two batters she faced before a failed double steal attempt ended the inning. Snyder took off for second and Mason’s throw down was cut off by Sherrill. A quick relay back to Mason was in time to retire Webb at the plate to end the inning.
The first four Noles in the fourth inning all reached base as Harrod opened with a walk and quickly stole second for her 19th stolen base of the season. A walk to Gordon and an RBI single up the middle by Sherrill made it 5-0 FSU. Davis hit an RBI single through the right side and Mason hit her third sacrifice fly for a 7-0 Seminole lead.
Hanson snapped her scoreless streak at 34.1 innings as Hussey hit a solo home run to start the fifth inning. She struck out two more batters before closing out the inning and ending her day in the circle. The Jupiter, Fla., native recorded eight total strikeouts as she improved to 12-3 on the season and allowed just one run on five hits with one walk in 5.0 innings of work.
Davis pitched the sixth inning for the Noles, pitching around a two-out single in her scoreless relief effort.
Gordon opened the bottom half of the sixth inning with a triple off the wall in left center, her third of the season. She scored on Sherrill’s 11th double of the season, which leads the ACC and ranks 11th in the nation. A ground out moved Sherrill to third base with one out and Dani Morgan ended the game with a sacrifice fly to right field for a 9-1 Florida State win.
The Seminoles remain at home for a three-game conference series with Syracuse on March 23-25. Florida State has won 29 consecutive ACC games and is unbeaten in its last 42 conference series. Links for live stats and FSU Softball Radio for all three games this weekend 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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