No. 3 Florida State grinds out 'gritty' 5-1 win over UCF, advances to Regional finals

It was the delay of game that changed everything.

Forget the last out that was a few feet from being a game-tying grand slam.

Forget, for a moment, the continued brilliance of Florida State ace Kathryn Sandercock. Or the nearly flawless defense behind her.

No, in a game that featured an interminable wait between every pitch from UCF starter Sarah Willis, it was the indescribable speed of pinch-runner Amaya Ross that changed the game for the Seminoles. It helped spark them to an eventual 5-1 win over the Knights in the winners’ bracket of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional on Saturday afternoon.

“We have a joke on the team that ‘Amaya fast’ is just a different kind of fast,” said FSU leadoff hitter Kaley Mudge, who had two hits and two RBIs for the Seminoles, who are now 52-8 on the season. “She’s worked so hard on her baserunning throughout the years. And she knows it’s such a tool. … Obviously, you can see it’s a different kind of fast.

“Very grateful for her. And off the field, she’s a great teammate.”

With a 3-2 count on Florida State slugger Michaela Edenfield in the top of the fifth inning of a 1-1 game, Willis was — finally — called for a delay of game after taking more than 30 seconds in between pitches. That gave Edenfield a walk.

Ross then entered as a pinch-runner. The speedy sophomore stole second on the second pitch, and then brazenly took third on a sharp groundball to UCF shortstop Jasmine Williams, who made a clean play but her throw was too late to get Ross.

Mudge then hit a slow-roller down the first-base line, and Ross sprinted home, beating the throw that wound up getting away from the catcher and allowing Josie Muffley to score as well.

Because of Ross’ speed, as well as that well-earned delay-of-game call on Willis, the Seminoles had themselves a 3-1 lead.

“It’s one thing to have speed on the bases, it’s another to be an Amaya,” Florida State head coach Lonni Alameda said. “Amaya is just selfless. She knows her role. She owns it. And she wants it. She wants her moment to be in there to help the team. …

“It’s super-incredibly inspiring to know when she gets out there, something is going to happen. I can’t help but think their shortstop picks up that ball and she throws out 90 percent of people at third. She’s probably like, ‘Wait, what? How did that just happen?’ Amaya has worked so hard on getting those reads and making that happen for us. So, yes, it is a tool [for us].”

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Florida State scored two more runs in the top of the seventh, thanks largely to a Mudge double off the center-field wall, and then survived a rally from the Knights in the bottom half.

With two outs, UCF loaded the bases on three hits, the last being a bunt single off freshman reliever Makenna Reid to bring the tying run to the plate. And the Knights’ No. 5 hitter, Shannon Doherty, put a charge into the first pitch she saw, sending a long fly to deep right-center field that made the sold-out crowd gasp when it left the bat.

But center fielder Jahni Kerr caught it on the warning track and the game — which lasted a whopping 3 hours and 13 minutes — was finally over.

Sandercock pitched 6 2/3 innings to record the win and improve to 24-3 on the season. And Florida State moved on to Championship Sunday, where the ‘Noles will face South Carolina at 11 a.m. on Sunday. (The original 4 p.m. game time was moved up five hours due to expected inclement weather.)

If the Seminoles win that one, they win the regional. If not, then they play a deciding game immediately after, or at 1:30 p.m.

“What a gritty ball game, and we knew UCF was going to be a gritty team,” Alameda said. “Kat was awesome today, being able to mix speeds and locations, and I thought the defense did a really nice job. So, it’s nice to get the ‘W’ and get some rest and see what kind of dogfight we’re going to have again tomorrow.”

South Carolina advanced to the championship round by defeating Marist (2-1) and UCF (10-1) in elimination games Saturday.

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