No. 8 Softball Powers Past FGCU and Mercer on Friday

TALLAHASSEE - The No. 8 Florida State Softball team (14-3) picked up two more run-rule victories on Friday afternoon as they defeated Florida Gulf Coast (6-16) 10-2 in six innings and Mercer (8-7) 14-0 in five innings on Friday at the Dugout Club Classic.

Game 1 (FSU 10 FGCU 2; 6 inn.)
The Noles used a six-run fourth inning to pull away from the Eagles for their second consecutive run-rule win in the first game of the doubleheader.

After a scoreless first two innings, the Eagles got on the board first with two runs in the top of the third. The Noles responded in the bottom half of the inning as Angelee Bueno led off the inning with a single, and Jaysoni Beachum doubled to bring her home to put the Noles within one.

The Noles got the scoring going in the bottom of the fourth inning as Katie Dack hit a two-run moonshot for her fourth home run of the season to give the Noles the lead. The Noles took an advantage of Eagles' error which allowed Annabelle Widra to triple to give the Noles another run. After a walk from Isa Torres, Beachum hit her third home run of the season to give the Noles a commanding 7-2 lead.

The Noles took advantage of another error as Katie Dack reached second because of it, and Shelby McKenzie drove in Dack with a single up the middle for her third RBI of the season in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The Noles got right back to work in the bottom of the sixth, needing just two more runs for the run rule. The Noles got two immediate baserunners thanks to a hit-by-pitch and a walk. Amaya Ross and Isa Torres each moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, and Beachum picked up the RBI on a groundout to give the Noles the 9-2 lead. Madi Frey ended the game with a single to left field to give the Noles another run-rule victory.

The Noles got another great outing in the circle as Jazzy Francik and Widra combined for the six innings. Francik got the start and struck out a season-high seven batters in 3.2 innings. Widra got credit for the win and allowed just one hit in 2.1 innings while striking out three. Widra improves to 4-0 this season in the circle.

Game Two (FSU 14 Mercer 0)
The Noles used another big inning to run away in a 14-0 win over Mercer for their largest margin of victory since a 14-0 win over Pitt on May 9, 2021.

Annie Potter got the scoring going in the bottom of the third inning with her first home run in the Garnet and Gold and just her third career home run to give the Noles the 1-0 lead. Beachum reached on an error, and Harp hit her fifth triple of the season to score Beachum and would go on to score on a groundout from Michaela Edenfield to give the Noles a 3-0 lead.

The offensive power came alive in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Noles scored 11 runs on 13 hits with 17 different batters coming to the plate. FSU's 11 runs in an inning is tied for the fifth-most in school history.

The offense started with Beachum and Harp who hit back-to-back no-doubters to bring four runs across. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Jahni Kerr who delivered with a single to bring home Shelby McKenzie and Addie Delong. Delong picked up her first career hit earlier in the inning on a bunt single.

Ross, Potter, Torres and Ashtyn Danley hit four consecutive singles to bring three more runs across and keep the bases loaded for Frey who singled down the left field line to bring home two more runs to extend the lead to 14-0.

Julia Apsel picked up the win as she started and went four innings and allowed just one hit while striking out four. Danley and Mimi Gooden combined to throw the last three outs as each recorded a strikeout.

10 different Noles recorded a hit on Friday night and eight different players recorded a RBI.

The Noles will wrap up the Dugout Club Classic with a rematch with Mercer at 3 p.m. before taking on College of Charleston at 5:30 p.m. Both games can be seen live on ACCNX.

For updates and exclusive content, follow the Seminoles on X (FSU_Softball), Instagram (fsusoftball) and Facebook (Florida State Seminoles Softball).

No. 8 Softball Powers Past FGCU and Mercer on Friday

Next Event

Team Stats

Jaysoni Beachum

Anna Hinde

Madi Frey

Shelby McKenzie

Players Mentioned

Julia Apsel

Jaysoni Beachum

Angelee Bueno

Katie Dack

Ashtyn Danley

Michaela Edenfield

Jazzy Francik

Madi Frey

Mimi Gooden

Jahni Kerr

Shelby McKenzie

Annie Potter

Amaya Ross

Isa Torres

Annabelle Widra

Florida State University Athletics