TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Extending its ACC series unbeaten streak to 51, dating back to 2012, No. 3 Florida State (31-3, 4-1 ACC) came from behind to post an 8-6 win over NC State (16-12, 0-4 ACC) on Saturday afternoon at JoAnne Graf Field.
The Wolfpack got their first hit of the game in the top of the second inning, snapping FSU’s streak of not allowing a hit at 7.1 consecutive innings, as well as 14.0 innings in ACC play.
“Our offense has been there for us all season, and it has been great to get Mak and Kat some experience in the circle,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “Cali had a great day on both sides of the ball. She made some big plays defensively and also had that big swing in the fifth inning for us. It is always our goal to take the series, and now going into Sunday, it is about who is the stronger and smarter team. It will be a dogfight tomorrow and that’s the excitement of ACC softball.”
Cali Harrod opened the FSU first inning with a walk, stole second and came into score on an RBI single by Carsyn Gordon. Elizabeth Mason made it 3-0 FSU with a two-run home run to center, her fifth HR of the season.
It marked the 25th time through 34 games this season that the Seminoles have scored in the first inning, and FSU has tallied 81 runs in the opening frame of 2019.
NC State loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second on FSU starting pitcher Makinzy Herzog with a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch. Herzog battled back with her fourth strikeout of the game for out number two, but the Wolfpack took a 4-3 lead with a grand slam from Brigette Nordberg that barely cleared the wall in right field.
The Seminoles loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the third inning on a single by Sydney Sherrill and walks to Zoe Casas and Herzog. Anna Shelnutt tied the game at 4-4 with an infield single over the head of the NC State pitcher.
Harrod reached on an NC State error to begin the Seminole fourth inning and moved to third on an infield single by Gordon. Sherrill gave FSU a 5-4 lead with a sacrifice fly to left for her 27th RBI of the season.
Florida State added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on a three-run home run by Harrod. Herzog singled, Shelnutt walked and was pinch-run for by Deja Bush, before the senior shortstop hit her team-leading 10th home run of the season to right center.
After the second inning home run, Herzog retired the next nine hitters she faced before a two-out single by Logan Morris in the top of the fifth. Kathryn Sandercock entered to pitch for the top of the sixth, as Herzog improved to 5-1 on the season, allowing four runs on two hits with four walks and a career-high seven strikeouts.
NC State scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI double by Madeline Curtis and an RBI single from April Visser, both with two outs.
The Wolfpack brought the tying run to the plate in top of the seventh as Morris hit a one-out single, but Sandercock ended the game with a strikeout and a groundout. Sandercock gave up two runs on four hits with two strikeouts and zero walks in 2.0 innings of relief.
The Seminoles and Wolfpack will wrap up the series on Sunday, March 24 at 12:00 p.m. The game will air on ACC Network Extra and links for the broadcast, live stats and ticket information will be available on the softball schedule page of Seminoles.com.
Fans can listen to the FSU softball coaching staff, head coach Lonni Alameda and assistant coaches Travis Wilson and Craig Snider, on their weekly podcast: Coaches and Coffee – The FSU Softball Podcast. Each week, the coaches talk about the current state of the Seminole softball team, chat about NCAA softball from around the country, and have a lot of fun along the way. The podcast can be found on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, or directly at our website – fsusoftballpodcast.wordpress.com.
Throughout 2018-19, the Seminoles will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of women’s intercollegiate athletics at Florida State and there are many events and reunions planned for all women’s sports. Head to www.seminoles.com/50th/ for more information that will be updated throughout the year.
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.
