Florida State claims ACC Softball Tournament title with walk-off win
Florida State has won the ACC Softball Tournament against Duke in thrilling fashion, securing a walk-off win to claim the crown.
After a defensive battle with both teams struggling to generate consistent offense off some very good pitchers, Florida State finally struck in the bottom of the seventh inning.
After a pair of leadoff groundouts, second baseman Devyn Flaherty got aboard with a single up the middle on a 1-1 count. That put the winning runner in range, and first baseman Bethaney Keen got the job done moments later with a bloop single to shallow left field that dropped and gave Flaherty enough time to round the bases for the winning run.
Because there were two outs, Flaherty was running on contact. She was already halfway to third base when the ball dropped in front of Duke left fielder Kamryn Jackson.
Jackson’s throw to the plate skipped over the head of catcher Kelly Torres, allowing Flaherty to get in for the game-winning run.
Florida State had struck first in the final ACC Softball Tournament contest before Duke had answered a couple innings later.
The Seminoles opened a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning after battling with two outs. Left fielder Kaley Mudge, who had a home-run-robbing highlight-reel play in the first inning, got on base with a single on a bunt. She was able to make it home when center fielder Jahni Kerr doubled to left center.
But both teams got elite pitching, and that was all Florida State would get for a while.
The Blue Devils leveled the score at 1-1 in the top of the fifth inning, aided by a Seminoles error.
Jackson got aboard after a fielding error at shortstop, reaching second base on the play. She moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt, putting her in excellent scoring position with just one out. Florida State recorded a strikeout for the second out, but burned itself when pitcher Kathryn Sandercock walked Aminah Vega with a passed ball.
Jackson raced home on the play, scoring and tying the game.
The win in the ACC Softball Tournament secured the 19th conference tournament title in the program’s history, with Florida State going back-to-back after winning in 2022.