Florida State Softball clinches regular-season ACC title; Baseball drops Mercer

Releases courtesy of Florida State Sports Information:

Kathryn Sandercock got a strikeout with the bases loaded, and the party was on at JoAnne Graf Field as the No. 3 Florida State softball team (45-8, 20-2) clinched their 14th ACC Regular Season Championship with a 6-4 win over Louisville (35-15, 16-5) on Friday night in front of 1,301 fans.

The Seminoles clinched their first ACC Regular Season Championship since 2019 and clinched the No. 1 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament. This is the seventh time the Noles have won the regular season title under Head Coach Lonni Alameda.

After two scoreless innings, the Seminoles finally broke through in the bottom of the third inning. A single by Kaley Mudge got the Noles going in the inning, and Jahni Kerr poked one out to left field which was mishandled by the fielder allowing Mudge to score and allowing Kerr to advance to third. Michaela Edenfield brought Kerr home with a single for her team-leading 47th RBI to give the Noles the early lead.

The Cardinals responded with a two-run home run in the top of the fourth to tie the game, but the Noles came right back with back-to-back singles from Josie Muffley and Mudge to put runners in scoring position for Kerr. Kerr delivered again with a single to bring Muffley home to give the lead back to the Noles.

A couple of singles from Mack Leonard and Edenfield put runners on second and third for the Noles, and Hallie Wacaser got the job done with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to two heading into the sixth inning.

The Cardinals added a run in the top of the sixth, but Edenfield picked up her third hit of the night to score Muffley and Mudge to give the Noles some insurance with a 6-3 lead heading into the final inning.

The three outs did not come easy in the top of the seventh as back-to-back walks put runners on first and second for the Cardinals. Makenna Reid then recorded back-to-back outs, but the Cardinals used a walk and an infield single to load the bases with the nation’s home run leader in the batter’s box.

Sandercock re-entered the game and got the strikeout with just four pitches to keep the ACC trophy in Tallahassee.

Sandercock picked up her 19th win of the season to improve to 19-3 on the year. The Seminoles got big offensive days from Mudge, Kerr and Edenfield as they each recorded three hits for the Noles.

The Noles will look to win the series tomorrow at 2 p.m. ACC Network will have the coverage.

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FSU Baseball 4, Mercer 2

Jackson Baumeister allowed a pair of runs in the first inning, but none over the next six as Florida State beat Mercer, 4-2, Friday evening in front of 3,873 fans at Dick Howser Stadium. Baumeister’s 7.0 innings pitched matched a career high and he evened his record to 4-4 on the season.

Titan Kamaka had two RBI – a go-ahead home run and a double in the fourth inning – and Treyton Rank had three hits, a run, an RBI and a stolen base.

Mercer took the early lead with a pair of runs in the opening frame before Baumeister settled in. The Jacksonville right-hander allowed just three runners over his final six innings; he struck out eight hitters to win his second straight start.

FSU scored a single run in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings to take the lead. Colton Vincent hit an RBI double and drew a pair of walks, while Rank tied the game with an RBI single in the third inning. Rank’s RBI came after James Tibbs stole his fourth base of the season, allowing the sophomore to score from second on Rank’s hit to center field.

Kamaka’s home run gave FSU the lead in the fourth, and his double in the fifth scored Rank to make the score 4-2.

Baumeister stranded a runner in the seventh inning, inducing a pop out on his 104^th and final pitch. Andrew Armstrong got one out in the eighth before Doug Kirkland needed just four pitches to force a pop up and a strikeout, stranding a runner.

In the ninth, Mercer earned a leadoff walk – the Bears only base on balls of the game – before Kirkland earned his third save with a game-ending strikeout of a pinch-hitter.

UP NEXT:

Saturday, 3:00 PM vs. Mercer – ACCNX – 2007 Player of the Year Tony Thomas, Jr. first pitch
Sunday, 1:00 PM vs. Mercer – ACCNX – 1^st pack of trading cards available

OF NOTE:

• Jackson Baumeister matched his career-high with 7.0 innings pitched. He added eight strikeouts to push his season total to 83, most on the team. Doug Kirkland earned his third save – most on the team – with 1.2 scoreless innings.
• Titan Kamaka hit a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning, his fourth home run of the season and first since March 25 at Virginia. He added an RBI double to tie his career-high RBI total.
• Treyton Rank was 3-for-3 with a walk, pushing his hitting streak to a career-long four games. He tied a career high with two runs and also stole a base. His three hits tied a season high.
• FSU’s first two hitters in the lineup, DeAmez Ross and Jaime Ferrer, singled in the first inning to extend their hitting streaks to seven games, tops on the team. Ferrer leads FSU with 63 hits, and Ross’s hitting streak is a career-long.
• Catcher Colton Vincent hit an RBI double in the second inning, his ninth two-bagger of the season. He has 11 extra-base hits on the season after hitting six – all doubles – in 58 games last year. He tied a career high with two walks.
• James Tibbs drew two more walks and now has 37 on the year, 21 more than the next closest Seminole. He has reached safely in 10 straight games and scored his team-high 47^th He has drawn four of FSU’s six intentional walks; he is now 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts.
• Andrew Armstrong made his 28^th appearance after entering the weekend sixth in the country in pitching appearances.

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