ATLANTA, Ga. (SEMINOLES.COM) — The No. 14 Florida State softball team (7-2, 4-1) split their two games with No. 15 Virginia Tech (6-2, 3-2) Saturday, defeating them 7-1 in game one before losing 9-1 in game two.
Game 1 – Florida State 7, Virginia Tech 1
Kathryn Sandercock started and pitched a complete game for the Noles in the circle during game one as she pitched seven innings allowing three hits and one run with a career-high nine strikeouts. The win marks the second win of the season for Sandercock.
The nine strikeouts are the most by a Seminole pitcher in a game this season.
Offensively the Noles were led by Anna Shelnutt as she had two RBIs on two hits.
Florida State led off the game with three straight hits and a run in the top of the first inning. Sydney Sherrill got on first with a single to left field and she was followed one pitch later on a single from Devyn Flaherty right up the middle. Elizabeth Mason made it three hits in a row for the Noles as she hit a single to center field bringing home Sherrill.
Kathryn Sandercock started off the game with back-to-back strikeouts before Virginia Tech’s Grace Chavez tied up the game with a solo home run to left field.
The Seminole offense exploded in the third inning, earning six runs on three hits and two errors. Flaherty started things off with a single and was followed up by a Mason double to left field. The Seminoles would go on to score six runs on a pair of Virginia Tech fielder’s choices that did not result in an out and two VT throwing errors on their pitcher.
The game calmed down after the third inning as Sandercock would put down 15 Virginia Tech batters in a row from the second inning into the seventh before walking Kelsey Bennett with one out in the seventh. She would hold VT scoreless after the first inning as Florida State would go on to win 7-1.
Scoring Summary
- T1 | Sydney Sherrill scored from second on an Elizabeth Mason single through the middle. (Florida State 1, Virginia Tech 0)
- B1 | Grace Chavez hit a solo home run to left field (Florida State 1, Virginia Tech 1)
- T3 | Devyn Flaherty scored on a fielder’s choice on a Cassidy Davis hit ball (Florida State 2, Virginia Tech 1)
- T3 | Elizabeth Mason scored after Dani Morgan reached on an error after bunting the ball back to the pitcher (Florida State 3, Virginia Tech 1)
- T3 | Cassidy Davis scored on a fielder’s choice after a Kalei Harding hit. (Florida State 4, Virginia Tech 1)
- T3 | Dani Morgan scored after Kiersten Landers bunted back to the pitcher and reached on a throwing error. (Florida State 5, Virginia Tech 1)
- T3 | A Anna Shelnutt single to left scored Landers and Harding. (Florida State 7, Virginia Tech 1)
Game 2 – Virginia Tech 9, Florida State 1
After a scoreless first two innings, Virginia Tech broke the offensive silence in the top of the third with eight runs. VT got two runners on with no outs to start the inning. With one out Grace Chavez hit her second home run of the afternoon, this time a three-run shot to left field. After getting the next batter on, Kelsey Bennett would give the Hokies a 5-0 lead with a home run of her own, this one scoring two runs. Virginia Tech would extend their lead to 8-0 with a one-out single up the middle by Meredith Slaw scoring the innings final two runs.
Virginia Tech added one more run in the top of the fourth inning to give the Hokies a 9-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, Florida State put their first and only run of the game on the scoreboard. Dani Morgan led off the inning with a single to left field and two batters later she made it to home after a double from Kiersten Landers.
Scoring Summary
- T3 | With runners on second and third Grace Chavez hit a three-run home run to left field. (Virginia Tech 3, Florida State 0)
- T3 | After a single to left by Jayme Bailey, Kelsey Bennet hit Virginia Tech’s second home run of the inning. (Virginia Tech 5, Florida State 0).
- T3 | A Mackenzie Lawter walk with the bases loaded scored one run. (Virginia Tech 6, Florida State 0)
- T3 | Meredith Slaw singled through the middle with the bases loaded, scoring two runs. (Virginia Tech 8, Florida State 0)
- T4 | A single by Addy Greene scored a Virginia Tech runner from second. (Virginia Tech 9, Florida State 0)
- B5 | A Kiersten Landers double to right-center sent home Dani Morgan from first. (Virginia Tech 9, Florida State 1)
From Head Coach Lonni Alameda:
“We knew today would be a battle, Virginia Tech is a very good team. Weekends like this always have that good postseason feel. This is why we love playing in and going after series like this. Tomorrow is the rubber match and I am really excited to see which team can make the adjustments and finish out the weekend strong.”
Notes
- Kathryn Sandercock’s nine strikeouts in game one were a career-high and the most for a Seminole pitcher this season. The nine strikeouts also tied a season-high as a team for the Noles.
- Dani Morgan has seven RBIs on the weekend and has recorded at least one RBI in three of the five games played during the ACC Pod Weekend. Morgan has eight RBIs this season.
- The Noles have shown their speed on the bases this season, recording 26 stolen bases in nine games this season. Devyn Flaherty leads the Noles with seven stolen bases.
Up Next
Florida State takes on No. 15 Virginia Tech again tomorrow at 11 am to wrap up the ACC Pod Weekend. The game will be on ACCNX.
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