TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The No. 3 Florida State softball team (36-3, 16-3 ACC) fell to the No. 5 Virginia Tech Hokies (28-4, 12-0 ACC) 6-3 in nine innings in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 1,403 at JoAnne Graf Field Friday.
The two starting pitchers shined through the first three innings of the Atlantic Coast Conference matchup with neither team able to muster up a hit. The Noles finally got going in the fourth when Kaley Mudge drew a leadoff walk and was brought home on a double by Sydney Sherrill on the game's first hit.
Devyn Flaherty then popped up to shallow right field, but it bounced off the fielder's glove, scoring Sherrill to give the Noles a 2-0 lead. The Hokies would tie the game in the top of the fifth on a two-run home run to left field.
The Noles threatened in the sixth with runners on second and third but were unable to push one across. The two teams went scoreless in the seventh before Meredith Slaw hit her second home run of the game to give the Hokies a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth.
The Noles were down to their final out before Michaela Edenfield hit a hard ground ball to third causing a high throw that sailed into the outfield.
Edenfield scampered to third before another wild throw allowed her to advance all the way to home to tie the game. Flaherty was just mere inches from the winning run, as she hit a deep fly ball to center field that bounced off the top of the wall for a triple. The Noles were unable to push her across.
The Hokies responded again in the ninth with another two-run home run to give them the lead which would ultimately become the game-winning runs.
Kathryn Sandercock suffered her first loss of the season but still had a strong outing allowing just four hits in 8.1 innings.
