TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The No. 10 Florida State softball team (21-6) took game one of the series against Notre Dame (17-9) with a 3-1 win. The Seminoles scored all three runs on either a sacrifice fly or a sacrifice bunt.
Notre Dame 1, Florida State 3
Caylan Arnold started and pitched five innings for the Noles in game one of the series against the Fighting Irish. She allowed five hits and one run with three strikeouts.
Kathryn Sandercock entered the game for the Noles in the sixth inning with the game tied at one. She pitched the final two innings, earning her 11th win of the season. She allowed just one hit with two strikeouts.
Florida State got on the board in the second inning after a sacrifice fly by Cassidy Davis scored Sydney Sherrill from third base. Sherrill led off the inning with a double down the left-field line. It was the 54th double of her career, moving her into a tie for third all-time in ACC history. She advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Josie Muffley and then scored on the next at-bat by Davis.
Notre Dame tied it up in the fourth inning. The Irish led off with a single to second base by Emma Clark. She then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Katie Marino. One batter later Karina Gaskins singled down the left-field line scoring Clark from second, tying the game at one.
The Seminoles regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with two more runs. Sherrill once again got on base from the leadoff position, this time with a walk. Just like in the second inning Muffley laid down a bunt, this time reaching base and advancing Sherrill to third. Cassidy Davis then walked to bring up Kaley Mudge with the bases loaded. Mudge hit a sacrifice fly down the left-field line scoring Sherrill from third. One batter later, Dani Morgan put down a sacrifice bunt scoring Muffley to give FSU a 3-1 lead heading into the seventh inning.
Sandercock led off the game’s final inning with two straight strikeouts before recording a ground out to second to secure the Florida State victory in the opening game of the series.
Scoring Summary
- B2 | Cassidy Davis scored Sydney Sherrill on a sacrifice fly to left field. (Notre Dame 0, Florida State 1)
- T4 | Karina Gaskins singled down the left-field line scoring Emma Clark from second. (Notre Dame 1, Florida State 1)
- B6 | Kaley Mudge scored Sydney Sherrill on a sacrifice fly to left field. (Note Dame 1, Florida State 2)
- B6 | Dani Morgan scored Josie Muffley on a sacrifice bunt. (Notre Dame 1, Florida State 3)
From Head Coach Lonni Alameda:
“A four-game series, in general, is tough so the first win is very important. We have so much fun doing a three-game series because that is what the postseason is all about. You get a feel for the momentum of trying to win the series. Now having a fourth game in there, the battle-tested mindset is going to be big. Getting the first one is a lot of momentum for you. Caylan and Kat threw really well today and the defense was on point. Being able to scratch out runs is so fun to see the excitement of just trying to scratch and be gritty and get it done.”
Up Next
Florida State has a doubleheader tomorrow against Notre Dame at JoAnne Graf Field. The first game is scheduled to start at 1 pm with the second game starting shortly after. Both games are on ACCNX
Follow Florida State softball on Twitter (@FSU_Softball) and Instagram (fsusoftball), and like our Facebook page (Facebook.com/FSUsoftball) to keep up to date with everything about Seminole softball.
