No. 11 FSU softball sweeps doubleheader against Charleston Southern in Dugout Club Classic
TALLAHASSEE - The No. 11 Florida State softball team (9-3) picked up two convincing wins over Charleston Southern (6-6) on Friday in a doubleheader in the Dugout Club Classic at JoAnne Graf Field. FSU defeated the Buccaneers 9-2 in game one and 9-1 in six innings in game two.
Game OneThe Seminoles used a seven-run fourth inning and a complete pitching performance from Mimi Gooden and Emma Wilson to rout the Buccaneers 9-2 in game one on Friday.
The Buccaneers took advantage of an error and two passed balls in the first inning to put a run on the board. FSU tied it up in the bottom of the second as Amaya Ross earned a walk and beat out the throw at second on a fielder's choice. Michaela Edenfield then grounded out to third, and Ross put on the gas and went from second to home to tie the game.
After a scoreless third inning, Jaysoni Beachum got things started in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ross then hit her third triple in the last three games to bring Beachum home to regain the lead for the Seminoles. Ross would score when Flaherty reached on an error, and Edenfield walked to put two runners on for Hallie Wacaser. She delivered with a three-run home run, her second home run in as many games. Kaley Mudge was hit by a pitch and was relieved on the base paths by Autumn Belviy. Jahni Kerr hit a double in the left-center gap to score Belviy, and Isa Torres immediately brought home Kerr on a single through the right side to give FSU seven runs in the inning before an out was recorded.
Emma Wilson relieved Gooden in the fourth inning and got herself out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fifth thanks to a great play from Annie Potter at shortstop that saved a couple of runs.
Makenna Reid came in in the sixth inning and closed the deal striking out three out of the six batters she faced.
Game TwoThe second game of the day saw a similar path as game one with the Buccaneers jumping out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second, but Ross once again got the rally started with a walk and immediately stole second and advanced to third on the high throw. Ross eventually scored on an infield single from Ashtyn Danley who picked up her first career RBI to tie the game after the second inning.
Danley returned to the circle and began to settle in as she retired seven consecutive batters before Allison Royalty came in on relief duty in the fifth inning.
The offense came through with three runs in both the third and fourth innings. Torres led off the bottom of the third inning with a double, and Ross delivered again with a two-out double to bring Torres home. Just two pitches later, Edenfield hit her third home run in as many games to give the Seminoles a 4-1 lead after the third inning.
Torres got FSU going again in the bottom of the fourth inning with a walk, and a Kalei Harding single put runners on the corners for Jaysoni Beachum, and she delivered with a single to score Torres. Ross recorded another hit to load the bases, and Wacaser dropped one in shallow left field to score two more for the Seminoles. Wacaser picked up another RBI in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly, and Krystina Hartley put a ball in play to score Ross to end the game early.
Ross once again led FSU and continues one of the best weeks of her career and is 8-for-9 in the Dugout Club Classic with five RBI, three triples, one home run, four walks and a perfect 3-for-3 on the base paths. In total, Ross has been involved in 15 out of the Seminoles 34 runs (44%) in the Dugout Club Classic.
Danely improved to 2-0 in the circle this season after giving up just two hits and one earned run while recording three strikeouts in four innings.
FSU will play their final two games of the JoAnne Graf Classic tomorrow at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. when they take on Nicholls in a doubleheader on ACCNX.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Michaela Edenfield homers again as FSU softball downs Charleston Southern