Florida State Softball dominates Oklahoma State, 8-0, in World Series opener

It started with a bang. A loud, thunderous bang.

Which was fitting for a game that was delayed for almost three full hours due to lightning in the area.

Michaela Edenfield’s massive two-run bomb in the first inning — which had to be one of the longest home runs hit in the Women’s College World Series — kick-started the Florida State offense, and Kathryn Sandercock silenced the Oklahoma State bats as the No. 3 seed Seminoles beat the sixth-seeded Cowgirls 8-0 in six innings on Thursday night.

It was the opening game of the Women’s College World Series for both teams. And it marked the first time Florida State (56-9) has won its opening game in Oklahoma City since 2002.

“This is new territory for us,” FSU head coach Lonni Alameda said with a smile. “We broke the curse of losing the first game. So, that’s pretty exciting for us. Gritty Oklahoma State team. Kat did a great job, defense did a great job. Big swing by Michaela to get the mojo going for us.”

The victory sets up a winners’ bracket game on Saturday night against either Utah or Washington (their game was moved to Friday after the long weather delays). Oklahoma State (46-15) will face the loser in an elimination game.

After Edenfield smashed her home run on the first pitch she saw in the first inning — a towering shot that she blew a kiss goodbye to as soon as it left her bat — the Seminoles kept tacking on runs in the ensuing innings.

They scored a single run in the third when Devyn Flaherty’s ground ball was mishandled by Oklahoma State’s first baseman, and then grabbed complete control of the game with a four-run fourth inning. That outburst included a Josie Muffley RBI squeeze bunt and was highlighted by Kaley Mudge’s three-run homer to left field.

Mudge, who set a World Series record with 14 hits in the 2021 event, had two more on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, Sandercock was Sandercock. Even after a delay of almost two hours in the top of the third inning, the FSU career wins leader was able to shut down the Oklahoma State lineup for five innings.

“It’s a different environment,” Sandercock said. “It’s exciting. It’s a lot of pressure. A lot of hype surrounding the World Series. Just the ability to come out and stay within ourselves and play Florida State softball was really big for us.

“That was my goal. Just staying within my routine. Eyeing up my defense, eyeing up Michaela. I think that’s definitely what allowed me to be successful.”

Mack Leonard, who had a solid single to start the four-run fourth inning, took over in the circle for the Seminoles in the sixth and worked a 1-2-3 inning.

The Florida State offense then finished off the win with a single run in the sixth. Pinch-runner Amaya Ross stole second and advanced to third on an errant throw by the catcher. She then scored on Jahni Kerr’s two-out infield single to the second baseman.

And the Seminoles – at last – had a win in their opening game of the Women’s College World Series.

“Honestly, it’s kind of a joke about we’ve always lost here,” Alameda said. “The reality is I felt like we’ve always come here and played softball and made adjustments while we’re playing in this tournament. It’s another tournament for us. Yes, it’s the biggest stage and only eight teams are playing.

“If we can keep it that simple and play the simple game of softball right now, we have opportunities to get to the next day.”

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