TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (seminoles.com) – The No. 25/24 Florida State softball team plays host to Sun Belt opponent Troy on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. at JoAnne Graf Field. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.com with play-by-play announcer Tom Block and former Seminole player Robin Ahrberg on the call.
The contest is scheduled to be the first of 12 Florida State regular-season games streamed or televised on an ESPN platform.
The Seminoles (4-0) are coming off a successful weekend hosting the Panhandle Invitational, defeating Florida A&M, North Florida, Bethune-Cookman and Jacksonville. In Sunday’s slate against BCU and JU, Florida State got hot at the plate and won both games by a combined score of 28-0.
Non-conference opponent Troy visits Tallahassee having split at the Bulldog Kickoff Classic hosted by Mississippi State last weekend. The Trojans (2-2) defeated Georgia State, 5-3, and beat Tennessee State by a 7-3 score.
Overall, Florida State holds a 23-10-1 lead in the series against Troy. However, the Seminoles allowed the Trojans to erase an early three-run deficit in last year’s matchup on the road and earn a 4-3 comeback win. In that loss, then-freshman pitcher Lacey Waldrop threw 4.2 shutout innings and allowed just two hits with five strikeouts.
“Troy always has a competitive program and we certainly had a hard-fought game with them last season,” head coach Lonni Alameda said. “We will need to get some fresh legs after a long weekend and hopefully carry over our performance from Sunday into Tuesday night’s game.”
The Seminoles have won each of the last four meetings at JoAnne Graf Field, which includes a three-game sweep in 2009 where they did not allow a run to Troy.
Senior second baseman Tiffani Brown has started the early portion of the season strong, going 9-for-13 with eight runs scored at last weekend’s invitational. Freshman Stephanie Hartness also made some noise toward the top of the lineup when she finished 6-for-13 with eight RBIs and two doubles in her weekend debut.
A few other freshmen made the most of their opportunities in their season debuts at the Panhandle Invitational. Kaitlin Allen of Tulsa, Okla. produced a two-run triple in her only at-bat and catcher Macey Cheatham recorded a single up the middle in one of her two at-bats.
Troy’s Hannah Renn and Chandler Griffin put forth strong weekend performances as well. Renn went 6-for-13 with one home run, two doubles and three RBIs, while Griffin finished 5-for-11 at the plate with five RBIs.
Following Tuesday night’s game, the Seminoles host the Unconquered Invitational beginning Friday, Feb. 15 at JoAnne Graf Field. Included in the tournament field is Hofstra, Arkansas and Tulsa.
Be sure to follow the Seminole softball team on its official Facebook page (Facebook.com/FSUSoftball) as well as on Twitter at @FSU_Softball.
