TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Battling until its final time at the plate, No. 10 Florida State (23-3, 3-0 ACC) scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to earn a 3-0 victory over Syracuse (12-14, 1-5 ACC) on Sunday afternoon at JoAnne Graf Field. Junior second baseman Ellie Cooper hit a one-out RBI triple in the sixth to open the scoring and pitcher Jessica Burroughs tossed 10 strikeouts in the shutout victory to complete the sweep of the Orange.
FSU has swept the season series against conference foes 18 times in its last 26 series, dating back to 2012. Overall, the Noles are 65-8 in their last 73 games against ACC regular season games.
The victory extends FSU’s winning streak to 18 games, tied for the sixth-longest in school history. The Noles last won 18 in a row from March 13-28, 1998.
“Today was a battle and I loved the fight from the entire team,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “We didn’t get a runner to second base until the sixth inning, but you wouldn’t have known that looking in the dugout. Everyone was in it pitch-by-pitch, fighting and supporting each other regardless of what happened earlier in the game, knowing that it can just take one pitch, one hit, one play to make a big difference in the game. Nice win to end the weekend and something to build on as we continue into the conference season.”
Much like Saturday’s game, it was a pitcher’s duel between Syracuse’s Jocelyn Cater and FSU’s Burroughs. Cater allowed just two baserunners in her 4.0 innings of work on a single by Jessica Warren in the first and a walk to Zoe Casas in the fourth inning. That was as far as either Seminole runner would reach as both were left stranded.
Burroughs retired the first seven Orange batters of the game before giving up a walk in the third to Alicia Hansen. She pitched around a single later in the frame to keep the game scoreless through three innings.
Syracuse brought in Sydney O’Hara in the fifth to pitch for Cater and she gave up a one-out walk to Cali Harrod in the sixth inning. Harrod immediately stole second on the first pitch to Cooper to move into scoring position. Cooper drove a 3-1 pitch deep over the head of SU centerfielder Maddi Doane for an RBI triple, giving the Noles a 1-0 lead.
Casas followed with a groundout to first base, scoring Cooper from third to make it 2-0 Noles. Warren capped off the scoring with her seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to right for the final score of 3-0.
Burroughs (13-2) retired the side in the seventh for her 10th consecutive victory. The redshirt junior struck out the side in the second and fifth innings on her way to 10 strikeouts for the game. It marked her second consecutive game with double-digit punchouts as she finished Saturday’s game against the Orange with 11 strikeouts. Burroughs finished the complete game shutout with just three hits allowed and two walks.
Florida State will hit the road for a three-game series at North Carolina on March 25-26. The Noles and Tar Heels will play a single game on Friday starting at 6:00 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
***Courtesy FSU Athletics
