A 'festival' of love, passion and support: The magic of Florida State Softball

As the ball sailed from the bat of Georgia catcher Lyndi Rae Davis toward the fence in left field, it was perhaps the first quiet moment all night at JoAnne Graf Field.

It might have been the first quiet moment since fans started setting out lawn chairs just a few feet beyond that fence, beginning around 8:30 in the morning. Nearly 12 hours before first pitch.

With two Georgia runners in scoring position and the Florida State softball team clinging to a two-run lead — with two outs in the seventh inning — the entire season for the Seminoles and Bulldogs would come down to this.

If the ball had enough juice to clear the fence, UGA would secure a walk-off win and force a winner-takes-all Game 3 of the Tallahassee Super Regional. If it did not, the Seminoles would finish off the sweep and advance to the Women’s College World Series.

The ball was in the air for about 3.5 seconds.

It felt like 3.5 minutes.

And it wasn’t until the roughly 2,000 Florida State fans in attendance noticed left fielder Kaley Mudge had camped out about 10 feet in front of the fence that they began to exhale.

Then once the ball landed safely in Mudge’s mitt and she and center fielder Jahni Kerr began racing toward the infield, after securing a 4-2 Florida State victory, the Seminole Softball Complex was awash in garnet-and-gold pandemonium.

GOING BACK WHERE WE BELONG#Team40 pic.twitter.com/rAByOwV4ne

— Florida State Softball 🥎 (@FSU_Softball) May 27, 2023

Pitcher Kathryn Sandercock ripped off her protective mask and threw it onto the infield clay, along with her glove. The senior then ran and leaped into the arms of catcher Michaela Edenfield. Each of the Seminoles’ infielders then hoisted their gloves high into the air and raced toward the pitcher and catcher.

Faster than you can say Oklahoma City, the entire FSU team had formed an impromptu mosh pit just outside of the pitcher’s circle, while the Seminoles’ coaching staff came together for a more subdued group hug near their dugout.

It was a performance and celebration worthy of its prime-time broadcast on ESPN.

Yet as the celebration unfolded — and, honestly, throughout the entire game — I found myself feeling sad for the Florida State fans who weren’t there in person. Whether they couldn’t get tickets because the entire allotment sold out in roughly one minute, because they don’t live in the area, or they simply don’t realize what kind of a gem this experience is, either way it’s a shame.

Not simply because this is an incredibly successful program. One that has posted a 109-16 record over the last two seasons, won the Women’s College World Series in 2018 and came within one win of doing it again in 2021.

And not just because this was a significant victory. One that will propel the Seminoles to their fifth WCWS appearance under head coach Lonni Alameda and puts another dagger in the memory of their disappointing NCAA Regional loss to Mississippi State last season.

No, what really makes this — the live, in-person FSU softball experience — special is the totality of it.

It’s those aforementioned die-hards who unfold their lawn chairs just past the crack of dawn to save their spots for a prime-time game. And the dozens of others who watch — and party — from the parking garage across the street.

It’s the group of players’ dads — and a couple of moms — who give up their seats in order to stand together and get a little rowdy beside the press box on the first-base side. Whether it’s the regular season or the NCAA Tournament, they are there every single game. Hugging, high-fiving and fist-bumping after positive developments. And comforting and consoling after negative ones.

It’s the former players who come back for games like this. And the parents of those former players, who also make their way back to Tallahassee for the postseason. “It’s super cool that they feel like it’s home,” Alameda said.

It’s the way players and coaches from FSU’s other sports programs make their way out again and again.

Every sport is seemingly represented, but the largest group on this night was from the football team, with guys like Jared Verse, Trey Benson, Joshua Burrell, Caziah Holmes, CJ Campbell, Kevin Knowles, Shyheim Brown and Ayobami Tifase hanging out with former Seminole Camm McDonald. Defensive line coach Odell Haggins, strength coach Josh Storms and other staff members turned out as well, and head coach Mike Norvell is there for so many big games. They watch, they cheer, they interact with fans, they pose for photographs.

It’s almost as if they’re part of the show.

But the beautiful truth is it’s not a show at all. It’s more like a family gathering.

A loud and large family gathering.

“It’s just an unbelievable college softball atmosphere,” said Georgia head coach Tony Baldwin, who saw his team drop two games in Tallahassee by a combined margin of 12-3. “We brought a great crowd, and they were into it, and Florida State’s crowd was unbelievable. It’s just what little girls aspire to get to, a place where they can play softball in something like this.”

That feeling is not lost on Alameda. She has seen this atmosphere evolve during her 15 years as head coach. And she has traveled to many of the best softball complexes in the country.

Some are bigger. Some are newer. Few have quite this same magic.

“It’s like a softball festival at Florida State,” she said. “It’s just a really neat environment. And a very unique environment.”

One of the many unique elements on Friday was the return of two stars from last year’s Florida State squad — third baseman Sydney Sherrill and pitcher Danielle Watson.

Sherrill and Watson were senior leaders on the 2022 Florida State team, which was ranked No. 2 in the country before being stunned by Mississippi State in last year’s Regional. They both fought back tears on the field and in the postgame press conference that night, knowing their careers would end without another trip to the World Series.

This week, they were back cheering on the 2023 Seminoles, who righted that wrong.

“I think we’re going to Oklahoma City because of last season and the lessons we learned,” Alameda said, explaining that this team was toughened by that experience. She went on to say that Watson and Sherrill were a “huge” part of Friday’s win.

Alameda, known affectionately by players and others around the program as, “Coacha,” got emotional several times during Friday’s press conference. It happened every time she reflected on how far individual players — or the team as a whole — has come.

The examples were everywhere.

To her right was junior third baseman Kalei Harding, who delivered the game’s biggest hit by staying back and driving a 2-2 change-up into the gap in left-center field. The double scored teammates Josie Muffley and Kerr, and Harding joked that it has only taken her three years to learn to sit on a change-up.

To Coacha’s left was senior pitcher Mack Leonard, who started her career at Illinois State and fell in love with FSU Softball while watching the Seminoles play at the 2021 WCWS. Within days, Leonard was on the phone with Florida State’s coaches talking about a potential transfer. She then came on a recruiting visit, where she saw the campus, met the players and spent time with the coaches.

“There was so much love,” Leonard remembers thinking.

The Illinois native was reminded of that love when Sandercock approached to give her a quick pep talk before Friday’s start. Florida State’s ace told Leonard there were going to be tough moments against a strong Georgia lineup, but that she should trust herself because she was going to do great.

“She was excited for me,” Leonard said. “Like, Kat was excited for me to go out there and pitch. And that’s when you know you have someone right there in your hip pocket who loves you and wants you to be successful.

“She’s awesome. I love her.”

Leonard, who earned the win after pitching 4 1/3 innings in the biggest game of her career, then grabbed Sandercock’s right arm and pulled her close for a hug.

About 20 minutes earlier, Sandercock was getting a hug at home plate from Alameda.

It was a completely different feeling than the way they walked off this field for the final time one year ago.

On that day, Sandercock inconceivably took losses in both games of a season-ending double-header — after posting a 30-1 record up until that point. She started the first game and gave up two runs in four innings, and the Seminoles were shut out 5-0. Then she came on in relief of Watson in the fifth inning of the second game and surrendered what ended up being the winning run in a 4-3 defeat.

On Friday, Alameda took the blame for what happened against Mississippi State. She said she didn’t give her pitchers enough rest during the season, and she believes that led to Sandercock’s velocity being slightly lower than normal.

Describing herself as a better pitching coach now because of that disappointment, Alameda explained how she worked with Sandercock on dialing back her workload this season. Coacha cut back her star pitcher’s innings and started using her more often out of the bullpen, with the idea being that she might be fresher at the end of the season.

The philosophy was validated this week, as Sandercock was absolutely dominant over the past six days. She threw a perfect game against South Carolina on Sunday, started and earned the victory in Thursday’s Super Regional opener against Georgia, then came on in relief and recorded the save with two shutout innings late Friday.

In her school-record 180th pitching appearance, Sandercock left the circle at JoAnne Graf Field one last time as a winner.

She heads into the World Series with a career FSU record of 105-11 with 17 saves.

“Florida State Softball is just the most amazing thing … that I’ve ever done in my entire life,” Sandercock said, when asked to reflect on her career and the opportunity to make one more trip to Oklahoma City.

Alameda wiped tears from her eyes as Sandercock spoke.

It was that kind of night.

It’s that kind of program.

When she started her opening comments in Friday’s press conference, Alameda praised Georgia’s team for the way they competed and the event staff for putting on a first-class tournament. Then she complimented her team for how hard they’ve worked all year.

Finally, she turned her attention to everyone else who was there supporting the ‘Noles.

“Our community,” she said. “We talked about it today in our scouting meeting. There’s such love here. We talk about a core value of family, but you can feel the family atmosphere. And that’s just literally in our hip pocket. It’s so awesome.”

In that moment, Alameda was undoubtedly thinking about the fans in the garage and the lawn chairs. The ones who bought every available seat in record time. The players and coaches from other sports who are some of their biggest fans. The parents and other family members who are there at every game. The alumni who keep returning, and the alumni’s parents who consider it “home.”

All together, they weave a tapestry of love that is palpable to everyone who enters this facility on game days.

It’s great that it was on ESPN. But it’s so much better in person.

It’s really as good as it gets.

When she wrapped up Friday’s press conference, Alameda did what she does after every interview.

She thanked the media for coming out and covering the program.

“Thank you guys for everything,” she said. “Thank you for being here all weekend.”

No, Coacha, and I mean this sincerely:

Thank you.

Contact managing editor Ira Schoffel at [email protected] and follow @iraschoffel on Twitter.

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.