TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Devyn Flaherty hit her first home run of the season in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the third-ranked Florida State softball team (46-8, 21-2) their 12th-straight victory with a 6-4 victory over Louisville (35-16, 16-6) in 11 innings Saturday afternoon at JoAnne Graf Field.
Saturday’s game marked the longest game at the Seminole Softball Complex since May 26, 2018, when the Seminoles defeated LSU in 11 innings in the Super Regional. The win increased the Seminoles’ winning streak to 12 games, their longest streak of the season.
The Cardinals struck first as they scored runs in the first three innings to take a commanding 4-0 lead. The Noles were able to get on the board in the bottom of the third as Jahni Kerr extended her hitting streak to 12 game with a RBI double to score Josie Muffley from first.
Neither team was able to get anything going in the fourth and the fifth innings. The Seminoles got the bats going in the bottom of the sixth as Kerr led off with a double and advanced to third on an error. Kalei Harding reached on an error to score Kerr, and Michaela Edenfield singled to put runners on first and second for the Noles. After a fielder’s choice, Autumn Belviy came in to steal second to put two runners in scoring position for Hallie Wacaser. Wacaser delivered with a single to bring home Harding and Belviy to tie the game.
Mack Leonard kept the momentum going for the Noles in the top of the seventh as she struck out the side, but the Noles were not able to get anything going in the bottom of the inning to send the game into extra innings.
Kathryn Sandercock came in and didn’t allow a hit in her 2.1 innings of work in extra innings. The Noles got a base runner in all four of the extra innings, but they couldn’t convert until Flaherty’s home run in the bottom of the 11th.
Sandercock earned her 20th win of the season to improve to 20-3 on the season.
The Seminoles will look for the sweep tomorrow at noon on ACC Network. This will be the Noles’ senior day as they honor Ali DuBois, Bethaney Keen, Mack Leonard, Kaia LoPreste, Josie Muffley and Kathryn Sandercock. The ceremony will begin at 11:45 a.m.
For updates and exclusive content, follow the Noles on Twitter (FSU_Softball), Instagram (fsusoftball) and Facebook (Florida State Seminoles Softball).
