Michaela Edenfield reveals her mindset on her home run at-bat vs. Tennessee

Florida State catcher Michaela Edenfield made the most of her first at-bat in Sunday’s Women’s College World Series matchup against Tennessee, drilling a home run to center field and into the stands. The hit was the first of three homers for the Seminoles, tying the game at 1 early and signaling a big shift in momentum.

It wasn’t the first home run that Edenfield connected on in the WCWS, as she also hit one in the Seminoles first game against Oklahoma State on Thursday. Speaking postgame with ESPN, she explained her thought process as she stepped up to the plate.

“It’s as simple for me as just my processes to get my swing off and putting myself in a good position there to get my swing off I think,” she said. “It’s as simple as just getting there, right? I just wanted to make sure that we got some runs in for my pitchers.”

Edenfield’s homer got the momentum going for Florida State, as Bethaney Keen and Hallie Wacaster followed up with long balls of their own in the third and fifth innings, respectively. After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, the Seminoles reeled off five straight runs to advance to their third WCWS final in program history with a 5-1 win.

The home run was the 13th of the season for Edenfield, including her third this postseason. That is good for the team lead, and she also led FSU last season with 16 homers. She ended the game 1-for-2 in her plate appearances and spoke postgame on how she has come to be a dependable presence for the team.

“Being present,” she explained. “I met with our mental performance coach this year and I told her I just wanted to be present every pitch. It doesn’t matter what happens with my personal goals, my hits, whatever that is. I just want to be there for my pitchers and be there for my team; whatever they need from me.”

FSU advances 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. Additionally, the two teams met this year in the regular season as the Sooners scraped by for a 5-4 victory.

Given how close that game was, Florida State and Edenfield should enter with confidence as they try to stop Oklahoma from claiming its third straight WCWS title. The first game of the series 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.