Meghan King Becomes FSU Career Saves Leader

PDF Box Score – Louisville d FSU 2-0 | FSU d. Louisville 4-1

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With her second save of the season and the 10th of her career, redshirt senior pitcher Meghan King became the FSU career leader in saves as No. 3 Florida State (37-4, 9-2 ACC) earned a split of a doubleheader against Louisville (24-14, 5-6 ACC) at Ulmer Stadium on Saturday. The Cardinals posted a 2-0 win in game one, while the Seminoles evened the series with a 4-1 win in game two.

King closed out game two with three innings in the circle, giving up a run on two hits with a walk and four strikeouts. She also allowed two runs over four innings in game one against the Cardinals, snapping her streak at 33.0 innings without giving up a run, which spanned nine different appearances dating back to March 15. She finished with five strikeouts, three hits and zero walks in the loss.

The shutout in game one was the first time that Florida State was held without a run in a school-record 67 games, dating back to April 18, 2018.

“It was a well-played ballgame by Louisville in game one and we just didn’t make the adjustments,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “It was good for us to bounce back in game two and score early and execute in some situations. Pleased with how Meghan pitched in game two in relief after starting game one and I am so proud with how she has developed over her career. She’s been a big part of the growth of this program and she is an outstanding leader of the pitching staff. We’re looking forward to the rubber match on Monday night.”

Game One: Louisville 2, No. 3 Florida State 0
One of the few batted balls to leave the infield in game one was the difference maker in game one as Louisville’s Megan Hensley hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, scoring Celene Funke who hit a leadoff single.

The Seminoles struggled offensively against Louisville starting pitcher Danielle Watson, getting only three baserunners on through the first six innings on walks by Cali Harrod and Anna Shelnutt, along with a single by Zoe Casas. Casas drew a two-out walk in the top of the seventh to bring the tying run to the plate, but a groundout ended the game.

Kathryn Sandercock pitched the final 2.0 innings of game one for the Noles, retiring the first four batters she faced and she allowed one hit, one walk and had one strikeout.

Game Two: No. 3 Florida State 4, Louisville 1
The Seminoles scored an unearned run in the top of the second of game two to take an early 1-0 lead. Casas drew a two-out walk, advanced to second on a Louisville error off the bat of Cassidy Davis and moved to third on a walk by Shelnutt. Freshman Savannah Parker drove in her 10th RBI of the season on a bases-loaded walk to put the Noles on the board.

Carsyn Gordon led off the FSU third inning with an infield single and scored on an RBI double by Sydney Sherrill. It was the 11th double of the season for Sherrill and the 40th of the sophomore’s career, which is seventh-most in FSU history. Sherrill later scored on an RBI double by Makinzy Herzog to push the FSU lead to 3-0.

Herzog started in the circle for the Noles and retired nine of the first 10 batters she faced before Sidney Melton led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a double. A fly out to deep center followed, and Melton tagged to third and tried to score on the play, but the relay from Dani Morgan to Harrod to Shelnutt retired her at the plate foe out number two. Herzog capped off the inning with a strikeout.

Gordon hit her second single of the game to begin the Seminole third inning, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on an RBI groundout by Morgan to make it a 4-0 game.

King entered to relieve Herzog in the bottom of the fifth, ending the freshman’s day in the circle. Herzog improved to 6-1 after allowing just two hits and a walk over 4.0 shutout innings with one strikeout.

UofL’s Melton opened the bottom of the sixth inning with a triple to centerfield and scored on a sacrifice fly to right field to cut the FSU lead to 4-1.

The Seminoles and Cardinals will wrap up their series on Monday, April 8 with a game will air nationally on ESPNU at 7:00 p.m. Links for the broadcast and live stats will be available on the softball schedule page of Seminoles.com.

Fans can listen to the FSU softball coaching staff, head coach Lonni Alameda and assistant coaches Travis Wilson and Craig Snider, on their weekly podcast: Coaches and Coffee – The FSU Softball Podcast. Each week, the coaches talk about the current state of the Seminole softball team, chat about NCAA softball from around the country, and have a lot of fun along the way. The podcast can be found on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, or directly at our website – fsusoftballpodcast.wordpress.com.

Throughout 2018-19, the Seminoles will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of women’s intercollegiate athletics at Florida State and there are many events and reunions planned for all women’s sports. Head to www.seminoles.com/50th/ for more information that will be updated throughout the year.

Follow Florida State softball on Twitter (@FSU_Softball) and Instagram (fsusoftball), and like our Facebook page (Facebook.com/FSUsoftball) to keep up to date with everything about Seminole softball.