No. 8 FSU softball survives late scare from No. 20 Duke, advances to ACC Championship Game
The Florida State softball team is back in the ACC Championship Game.
Holding onto a one-run lead with two outs in the seventh inning Friday, FSU pitcher Ashtyn Danley induced a weak pop-out to first base with the tying run on third to preserve the 3-2 victory and send the No. 8 Seminoles to Saturday’s title game, where they will play the Virginia Tech-Clemson winner.
Florida State (46-8) had the lead in the seventh thanks to a terrific pitching performance by star freshman Jazzy Francik. She pitched four full innings and didn’t allow a single earned run, allowing three hits, striking out four and walking none in relief of starter Julia Apsel.
Duke, which won the ACC Championship a season ago, was down 3-1 with two outs and nobody on base in the seventh inning against Francik before two straight singles. An error on FSU shortstop Isa Torres cut the lead to one and put the tying run on third base.
That’s when Danley came in and got the final out to knock off the defending champs and send FSU to its 27th conference championship game. The Seminoles will be looking to win their 20th ACC Championship on Saturday.
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Florida State’s offense wasn’t its usual dominant self on Friday in Boston, but the lineup did just enough to get the victory.
Torres, who is currently hitting .451 on the season, had two hits and scored a run. Jahni Kerr and Katie Dack had RBIs and Michaela Edenfield hit her ninth homer of the season, a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, to give the Seminoles an insurance run they absolutely needed.
The ACC championship game is set for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN.
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