TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Friday’s contest was the pitching duel everyone expected from FSU’s Kylee Hanson and Syracuse’s Alexa Romero, as the pair rank in the top five of eight pitching categories in the ACC, with Romero (128) and Hanson (112) ranking first and second respectively in strikeouts.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning and a sacrifice fly by Zoe Casas brought in the game’s only run as No. 14 Florida State (24-6, 4-0 ACC) earned a 1-0 victory over Syracuse (15-9, 4-3 ACC) in front of 1,215 fans at JoAnne Graf Field.
Hanson (13-3) struck out 11 in the complete-game victory, giving up just two hits and a walk and tossing only 97 pitches. Romero (10-6) started strong, striking out seven of the first 10 FSU batters she faced and finished the game with eight Ks. She allowed three hits, four walks and hit two batters in the loss.
The victory extended Florida State’s ACC winning streak to 30 games, and is tied with Arizona for the 10th-longest conference winning streak in NCAA history. The Wildcats won 30 Pac-10 games in a row from 1993-94.
“You are going to get their ace on Friday night, and boy, she had some really good stuff,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “We hung in there and had some really good team at bats tonight. That’s something we talk about and how you don’t know who is going to get a swing for the team. So it is awesome that everyone is contributing right now. It isn’t results-driven, but process, and they are starting to believe that. So that was a big win for us.”
Florida State got a pair of runners on in the bottom of the second inning on a leadoff walk by Cassidy Davis and a single by Elizabeth Mason, but a pair of strikeouts left them stranded.
Syracuse used a two-out FSU error and a single by Sammy Fernandez to eventually have Orange runners on second and third, but the Noles got out of the inning unscathed with a fly out to center.
Casas opened the Seminole fifth inning with a single to right and a sacrifice bunt moved her to second with one out. Cali Harrod worked an eight-pitch at bat, and eventually reached on a walk as ball four was well off the plate and the wild pitch allowed FSU runners to get to second and third with two outs. Carsyn Gordon was hit by a pitch, but bases remained full after a strikeout.
The Orange got a pair of runners on in the sixth inning with an infield single and a walk, but a fly out to right left them both stranded.
Korina Rosario drew a walk to lead off the sixth inning for Florida State and Anna Shelnutt was hit by a pitch to put a pair of runners on with nobody out. A groundout moved both into scoring position and Casas drove in the game’s only run with FSU’s 12th sacrifice fly of the season, which is tied for the most in the ACC.
Hanson closed out the game with a perfect seventh inning, capping the frame with a pair of strikeouts. It marked the fifth time she has reached double-digit strikeouts this season and the third time in her last four appearances.
The series between the Noles and the Orange continues on Saturday, March 24, with first pitch at JoAnne Graf Field coming at 1:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra, and all video, radio and live stats links 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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