The No. 10 Florida State (35-4) softball team looked to keep its bats hot and their pitching stellar heading into the weekend series against Notre Dame. The Seminoles continued their hot streak, sweeping the Fighting Irish to extend their winning streak to 24 games.
FSU is now 12-0 to open ACC play, recording four straight weekend sweeps.
“I think Notre Dame’s got some good arms in the circle and we made some really good adjustments,” FSU coach Lonni Alameda said. “For some of our freshmen to be competing like upperclassmen right now is just really exciting."
On Thursday, the Seminoles defeated the Irish 7-2, highlighted by freshman Hayley Griggs’ home run and Isa Torres’ four hits and two RBI on the day. Jazzy Francik, Makenna Reid and Ashtyn Danley contributed in the circle with a combined nine strikeouts and two earned runs.
Friday was a 10-0 run-rule victory for FSU where the bats came alive and the Irish simply had no answer. Torres and Kennedy Harp blasted home runs, while Danley had two hits and three RBI. This was an easy victory for the Seminoles as they headed into Saturday with a sweep in their sights.
Notre Dame jumped out on the Seminoles to start Saturday's game and led 4-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning, but that was all of the scoring the Irish could generate as the Seminoles rallied for an 8-4 victory. This Florida State team is gritty and is used to getting punched and having to get back up and respond. That is exactly what they did in the third inning when the Seminoles put up three runs, highlighted by freshman Anna Hinde’s RBI single, which scored two runs.
“The theme for our freshmen has just been the maturity for them,” Alameda said. “When you are mature and you can handle the learning moments, which they have been handling, and keeping their heads above water and don’t get too caught up in the failures, they’re able to stay present and it’s a very cliche thing to say but it’s really hard to do and I’m just really proud of them.”
Hinde added another two-run single in the sixth to give FSU a little insurance heading into the seventh with a comfortable 8-4 lead. Danley closed the door on the Irish with the last out as the Seminoles completed the sweep.
Up next
Now the Seminoles will pack their bags and head out west to play Santa Clara on Wednesday, followed by a weekend series with Stanford. The West Coast trip isn’t new to the Seminoles but it is a challenge playing that far away from home.
“Last year when we went out there we were lagging,” Alameda said. “We could feel it and we know that it’s going to be the feeling at Santa Clara, too. But if we can commit to our plan of sleep and preparation and Stanford’s a scrappy team, Santa Clara is a scrappy team, so being a little on the half side of the sleep and recovery side, but this is where guts has got to show up when you go across the country.”
The game against Santa Clara is scheduled for a 9 p.m. ET start time on Wednesday.
