Cool In The Clutch! Another two-out rally lifts FSU past Auburn, into Super Regionals

Timely two-out hitting was the difference for FSU Softball throughout the weekend in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional.

Florida State’s go-ahead RBI in the bottom of the sixth inning against Chattanooga on Friday come with two down, and the Seminoles scored four of their five runs Saturday vs UCF with two outs.

In a 10-4 victory over Auburn on Sunday — a win that propelled the ‘Noles to the NCAA Super Regionals — that theme continued in a big way. With two outs in the top of the sixth inning in a game that was deadlocked at 3-3, FSU exploded for seven runs.

The go-ahead run came courtesy of Kaley Mudge, who drew a bases-loaded walk. That scored Annie Potter, who had come on as a pinch-runner for Michaela Edenfield after Edenfield walked to start the inning.

Earlier in the game, Edenfield put the ‘Noles ahead in the third inning on a three-run home run that crept over the center-field wall. But Auburn tied it back up in the fifth.

“They have an amazing pitching staff,” Edenfield said. “I think it was just going after pitch one and just bringing it. At the beginning of the game, we talked about the energy from the UCF game and how can we get better every day.”

Florida State blew the game open after Auburn turned to ace pitcher Maddie Penta with no outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning. The Tigers senior had thrown 224 pitches the night before in a 2-1, 12-inning win vs UCF.

Penta was able to strike out the first batter she faced, FSU pinch-hitter Katie Dack. The Auburn pitcher then struck out freshman pinch-hitter Kennedy Harp after a 10 pitch at-bat for the second out. That led to the walk of Mudge, and then the floodgates opened for the FSU offense.

Jaysoni Beachum added another run on an RBI infield single following the Mudge walk, then Kalei Harding drove in two runners with a blooper into shallow left field. The next batter, freshman Isa Torres, took a 3-0 pitch over the center-field wall for a three-run home run to put FSU in front 10-3.

“’T Wil’ (hitting coach Travis Wilson) gave me the go, and I said, ‘You either see this ball and you hit or you don’t.’ So I saw it very clear, and I just swung, and good things happen when you swing,” Torres said. “So thanks to ‘T Wil’ for giving me the go, or else I wouldn’t have done that.”

All 10 runs scored by the Seminoles on Sunday came with two outs.

“When you start to feel that and you get that fight mentality with two outs, it’s really hard to shut it down,” FSU coach Lonni Alameda said. “And these guys definitely have the grit and the fight in that. … It’s really cool to see that fight in to postseason.”

After the Edenfield home run in the third inning, seven of the next eight FSU batters were retired. And while the Seminoles struck out 11 times on the night, they found a way to manufacture runs when the game was on the line.

“I think that we adjusted well,” Torres said. “I just think that we kept going at a time like they were punching us, but we punched back. And I think that’s what was more important was our response in that. But they’re a great pitching staff. We made the adjustments, and it just worked well for us. And I just think we kept the pressure on every single inning, and through that we got some runs.”

Auburn got one run back on a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth, but that closed the scoring for both teams.

FSU freshman Ashtyn Danley earned the win, logging 5 1/3 innings pitched. She exited the game in the third inning in favor of Allison Royalty, then returned in the bottom of the fourth. Royalty faced just two batters, giving up a walk and a hit by pitch before exiting the game with an injury.

“She’s been day-to-day for a month-and-a-half now. So like I said, she’s literally been giving us everything she has in her tank,” Alameda said of Royalty. “I think that’s up to the doctors as we move forward, but I know Allison could have one arm, one leg and go out and pitch with her heart. So she’s going to give us what she can.”

After winning the Tallahassee Regional, FSU now will face another familiar opponent, Oklahoma, in the Super Regional round. The Sooners have won three straight national championships, and they claimed two of those titles by defeating Florida State in the finals of the Women’s College World Series.

The Norman, Okla., Super Regional will begin on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Friday’s game will be at 8 p.m. with TV information to be determined.

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