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TUCSON, Ariz. — The Wildcats showed why their offense is among the best in the country on Saturday night as No. 12 Arizona (18-6) earned an 11-3 win over No. 1 Florida State (24-2) to even the series at a game apiece.
It was the most runs allowed by Florida State since an 11-0 loss at No. 5 Oregon on May 6, 2017. The Wildcats scored in four of their five innings at the plate and six of Arizona’s 11 runs on Saturday night came with two outs in the inning.
“I loved how our kids battled throughout the game,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “Arizona came out swinging the bats and we learned a lot today. That’s why you play a three-game series, in order to get better and grow, and that’s why we came out here. We are really excited about the series wrap-up tomorrow and looking forward to the opportunity.”
For the 18th time through 26 games in 2019, Florida State scored a first inning run as Carsyn Gordon hit a solo home run to left. It nearly cleared the 20-row set of bleachers beyond the wall in left, hitting off the signage above the top row for her sixth home run of the season. It was her 29th home run of her career, which is tied with Veronica Wootson (2004-07) for fifth-most in FSU history.
FSU starting pitcher Makinzy Herzog struck out the first batter she faced, but Arizona then scored three runs on a single, an FSU error and a two-run home run by Dejah Mulipola to end Herzog’s day in the circle. Cassidy Davis entered with one out in the bottom of the first with Arizona holding a 3-1 lead and ended the inning with a groundout and a strikeout.
It marked the first runs that Herzog had allowed this season as she had tossed 19.1 scoreless innings through her first seven appearances of 2019.
Arizona scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning, all with two outs, including a two-RBI single by Jessie Harper and another two-run HR by Mulipola.
The Seminoles cut the Arizona lead to 7-3 in the top of the third inning as Herzog extended her hitting streak to nine games with a single up the middle, followed by a two-run home run by Cali Harrod. It was the 171st run scored of Harrod’s career, moving her into eighth place in FSU history, surpassing Susan Buttery (1990-93).
Arizona added two more runs in the bottom of the third as the Wildcats loaded the bases with two outs on a pair of walks and an infield single against FSU relief pitcher Kathryn Sandercock. Reyna Carranco made it 9-3 Wildcats with a two-RBI single up the middle.
The Seminoles loaded the bases in the top of the fifth inning on walks by Harrod and Elizabeth Mason, along with a two-out single by Sydney Sherrill, but a fly out to center ended the inning.
Arizona ended the game with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning for the 11-3 win. A pair of one-out singles by the Wildcats prompted an FSU pitching change, bringing in Kara Bilodeau. The sophomore faced one batter as Alyssa Palomino hit a two-run double to right to end the game.
The Seminoles and Wildcats will wrap up the series on Sunday, March 10 at 3:00 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed online for free through the Pac-12 Networks. Links for the broadcast, live stats and ticket information will be available 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.
