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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Joining with the Cavaliers on Saturday in support of their annual Unite In The Fight game, both Florida State and Virginia wore lavender ribbons as well as special warmup shirts and participated in events to bring awareness to cancer and support those currently fighting the disease.
In softball action, Elizabeth Mason carried the Seminole offense with a pair of two-run home runs as No. 3 Florida State (34-3, 7-1 ACC) defeated Virginia (16-16, 5-6 ACC) by a score of 8-2 on Saturday afternoon. Eight of the 10 hits for Florida State went for extra bases on five doubles, a triple and two home runs.
“It is always an honor to play for something bigger than yourself,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “Virginia does a great job in promoting events and today’s Unite In The Fight was outstanding from the ribbons to the shirts to the photos of loved ones on the tables, it was really cool to get together with them and support the amazing people that are in the fight.
“In the game, I thought we battled well for seven innings and UVA’s pitcher tossed a great game. We got a lot of looks for some young ones today and it was a good win for us.”
Dani Morgan extended her season-high hitting streak to seven games in the second inning with a double down the left field line. She would be left stranded after a pair of groundouts. The junior outfielder has reached base safely in each of her last 14 games.
The Seminoles got on the board in the top of the fourth inning as Carsyn Gordon led off with a double to right center and scored on a two-run HR by Mason. It was the seventh home run of the season for the redshirt sophomore, matching her performance from 2018.
FSU starting pitcher Kathryn Sandercock scattered a pair of hits over the first three innings, but allowed a leadoff home run to Olivia Gott in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the FSU lead to 2-1.
The Noles threatened in the top of the fifth as Cali Harrod drew a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and an infield single by Gordon put FSU runners on the corners with two outs. Sydney Sherrill followed with a line drive up the middle, but it was deflected by the pitcher over to the UVA shortstop, who stepped on second base to end the inning.
Makinzy Herzog entered to pitch for Florida State in the bottom of the fifth, ending Sandercock’s day in the circle. Sandercock improved to 10-0 as the freshman allowed one run on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts over 4.0 innings.
Zoe Casas drew a two-out walk in the top of the sixth, which was followed by a single by Herzog and Maegan Tomlinson entered to run for Casas at second base. Anna Shelnutt lined a two-RBI double to left to push the FSU advantage to 4-1.
Herzog retired the first three batters she faced in the circle on seven pitches, but her 10th pitch of the day ended up as a solo home run by Lacy Smith to start the UVA sixth inning. It was her 13th HR of the season, cutting the Seminole lead to 4-2. Following a single and a pair of strikeouts, Meghan King entered to relieve Herzog and ended the inning with a fly out to right field.
The Seminoles added four more in the top of the seventh on a two-run home run by Mason, an RBI triple by Casas and an RBI double by Herzog.
Kara Bilodeau closed out the game in the circle and tossed a scoreless seventh inning, allowing one walk and posting two strikeouts.
The Seminoles and Cavaliers will wrap up the series on Sunday, March 31 at 12:00 p.m. The game will air on ACC Network Extra and 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.
