TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) — The No. 9 Florida State softball team (29-6, 17-2 ACC) swept Syracuse (15-13, 8-10) in a doubleheader Saturday. The Seminoles earned a 7-3 win in game one and a 9-0 run-rule victory in game two.
In game one, the Seminoles tied the program’s single-game record with six home runs. The homers were hit by five different players and equaled a mark established May 18, 2019, against South Florida.
Game 1 – No. 9 Florida State 7, Syracuse 3
The Seminoles used a program-record-tying six home runs hit by five different players to score their seven runs in game one. Devyn Flaherty led the way with two home runs and three RBI, while Anna Shelnutt, Cassidy Davis, Josie Muffley and Kiersten Landers all added solo home runs. Landers also stole two bases during game one.
Kathryn Sandercock earned her 15th win of the season after a strong outing. The redshirt sophomore from McLean, Virginia, registered three strikeouts and allowed only one run on five hits in 5.0 innings of work.
Florida State exploded on offense in the top of the fourth and took the lead behind three home runs after Syracuse scored one run in the first. The Seminoles began the inning with back-to-back home runs, starting with Shelnutt’s bomb over the trees in left-center field to tie the game at 1-1. Davis then hit a home run into the net behind the fence in right-center to give FSU a 2-1 lead, and Flaherty hit a two-run shot to right-center field with two outs, scoring Elizabeth Mason to extend the lead to 4-1.
The offense burst forward again in the sixth behind three more home runs. Muffley homered to left center with one out to give FSU a 5-1 lead, and Flaherty hit her second of the day with two outs to push the lead to 6-1. After a pitching change, Landers took the first pitch she saw way over the fence in right-center field to cap the Seminoles’ scoring.
Emma Wilson pitched 1.0 scoreless inning with one strikeout and one hit allowed. Danielle Watson came in for the seventh to finish the game and recorded two strikeouts while allowing two runs on one hit for the final margin of 7-3.
Scoring Summary
- B1 | Neli Casares-Maher hit a solo home run to right-center field with two outs. (Syracuse 1, Florida State 0)
- T4 | Anna Shelnutt hit a leadoff solo home run to left-center field with no outs. (Florida State 1, Syracuse 1)
- T4 | Cassidy Davis hit a solo home run to right-center field with no outs. (Florida State 2, Syracuse 1)
- T4 | Devyn Flaherty hit a two-run home run to right-center field, scoring Elizabeth Mason from first with two outs. (Florida State 4, Syracuse 1)
- T6 | Josie Muffley hit a solo home run to left-center field with one out. (Florida State 5, Syracuse 1)
- T6 | Devyn Flaherty hit a solo home run to right-center field with two outs. (Florida State 6, Syracuse 1)
- T6 | Kiersten Landers hit a solo home run to right-center field with two outs. (Florida State 7, Syracuse 1)
- B7 | Toni Martin scored from third on a wild pitch with two outs. (Florida State 7, Syracuse 2)
- B7 | Paris Woods hit a solo home run to right field with two outs. (Florida State 7, Syracuse 3)
Game 2 – No. 9 Florida State 9, Syracuse 0 (6 Innings)
Florida State kept its offense rolling into the second game, striking early and often to earn a run-rule win. Caylan Arnold threw 5.0 innings of two-hit ball while striking out eight to earn her ninth win of the season.
The Seminoles took an early lead in the top of the second inning when Anna Shelnutt scored from second on a single up the middle by Josie Muffley. FSU manufactured a run in the fourth behind D’Aun Riggs’ legs. Riggs came in to pinch-run after Shelnutt earned a walk and proceeded to steal second and then, one batter later, third before scoring on Dani Morgan’s bunt single to give Florida State a 2-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, Landers added her third stolen base of the day and, along with Sydney Sherrill, scored on Kalei Harding’s double for a 4-0 lead. Harding scored one batter later on Cassidy Davis’ double, giving FSU a 5-0 advantage.
Elizabeth Mason crushed a solo home run to left-center field for a 6-0 lead in the sixth. Freshman Carson Saabye recorded her first collegiate hit later in the inning, smashing a double down the third-base line and igniting a two-out rally. The Monument, Colorado, native would come around to score the first run of her collegiate career on Kaia LoPreste’s two-out double. After Sherrill scored on a wild pitch, LoPreste completed the scoring on an RBI single by Shelnutt to provide the 9-0 final score.
Emma Wilson came on in the sixth inning and forced a leadoff pop out. After an error, Brianna Enter took the ball and retired the next two batters to finish off the Orange.
Scoring Summary
- T2 | Josie Muffley singled up the middle to score Anna Shelnutt from second with two outs. (Florida State 1, Syracuse 0)
- T4 | Dani Morgan singled on a bunt back toward the pitcher to score D’Aun Riggs from third with one out. (Florida State 2, Syracuse 0)
- T5 | Kalei Harding doubled to right field, scoring Kiersten Landers from second and Sydney Sherrill from first with one out. (Florida State 4, Syracuse 0)
- T5 | Cassidy Davis hit a double to right-center field to score Kalei Harding from third with two outs. (Florida State 5, Syracuse 0)
- T6 | Elizabeth Mason hit a solo home run to left-center field with one out. (Florida State 6, Syracuse 0)
- T6 | Kaia LoPreste doubled to center field to score Carson Saabye from second with two outs. (Florida State 7, Syracuse 0)
- T6 | Sydney Sherrill scored from third on a wild pitch with two outs. (Florida State 8, Syracuse 0)
- T6 | Anna Shelnutt singled up the middle to score Kaia LoPreste from third with two outs. (Florida State 9, Syracuse 0)
From Head Coach Lonni Alameda:
“I was really excited for our offense today. We were swinging it and had good energy. Coming out with good pitching and defense and hitting after a rain day yesterday was fun to see, and we’re excited about playing two tomorrow. It was good for our pitchers to make some adjustments and was nice to see Emma and Bri give us some good innings today. Carson (Saabye) coming off the bench getting her opportunity was exciting, and that impacts the whole team. Everyone works so hard to be able to capitalize on the chances they get like Carson did today.”
Up Next
Florida State wraps up its series at Syracuse with a Sunday doubleheader starting at 10 a.m.
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