Lonni Alameda addresses multiple illegal pitches called on Makenna Reid

Florida State pitcher Makenna Reid has had a frustrating start to Monday’s Women’s College World Series game against Tennessee. After entering the game in the third inning, Reid has already been called for four illegal pitches.

Even so, Reid was able to get out of the inning without allowing a run as the Seminoles hold a 2-1 leading heading into the fourth. FSU coach Lonni Alameda stuck with Reid in the fourth, and spoke on the struggles for her freshman pitcher during an in-game interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe.

“We’ve had one illegal pitch all year, so if it’s a tactic right now that’s awesome,” Alameda said. “But so proud that as a freshman in this environment she can just relax and do her thing. It’s pretty awesome poise on her side. I think sometimes maybe she moves her back foot a little bit, but she’s been out front before and nothing’s ever been called. So it’s a consistency factor, but just keep doing what we do.”

It seems the illegal pitches had something to do with the placement of Reid’s back foot. She still managed a pair of strikeouts in the third and got through the fourth clean with three outs to help the Seminoles hold on to the lead.

It remains to be seen whether Reid will finish out the game, but if not, Alameda is confident in the players she has in her bullpen to close.

“We have our whole bullpen ready to go,” she said. “I think if we can get a couple more runs and (Kathryn Sandercock) can be ready to go to finish out this. We know this is gonna be a dogfight. They’re a great team, so a lot of fun.”

Florida State defeats Tennessee 5-1 to advance to WCWS final

Florida State ultimately went on to win the game 5-1 after scoring five unanswered runs to finish things out.  Kathryn Sandercock entered the game in relief of Reid in the fifth inning to record the save, striking out four batters across the final three innings to secure the victory.

Reid still ended the game with the win to improve her season record to 13-0. She finished with a pair of strikeouts in her two innings of work.

This marks the third time in program history that Florida State has advanced to the Women’s College World Series final. The Seminoles previously won the tournament in 2018, taking out Washington in the final.

FSU moves on to face Oklahoma in the WCWS finale, which is a best-of-three series. The Sooners and Seminoles also met in the final during the 2021 season, with OU coming out on top. Florida State has a tall task ahead to beat Oklahoma, which is in search of its third straight championship and has won an NCAA record 51 consecutive games.

The first game of the WCWS final is set to take place at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City and will be televised on ESPN.