Story Courtesy Georgia Southern sports information
TALLAHASSEE, FL - The Florida State softball team rallied to win game one then used five first-inning walks to put game two away early in a sweep of Georgia Southern Tuesday evening at Joanne Graf Field.
The Seminoles won game one 3-2 and took game two 10-2 in five innings.
FSU improves to 4-1 while the Eagles fall to 1-4.
Game 1 ? Florida State 3, Georgia Southern 2
Sophomore Tiffany McDonald came on in relief during the first inning to get her second-straight victory. The right-hander struck out a career-high 11 batters. Eagles' starter A.J. Street (Lilburn, Ga.) took the loss, giving up three runs in five innings of work.
Georgia Southern jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the first inning off FSU starter Melissa May. After an error to start the game, junior Aurora Johnson (Macon, Ga.) and senior Gina Sterchi (Chattanooga, Tenn.) laced back-to-back doubles to take the lead 2-0. McDonald entered in relief and struck out three of the four batters she faced to end the inning.
Just like the last three games when she picked up her first hit of the game, Jacob came around to score in the first inning. One out after her single, second baseman Veronica Wootson ripped a triple to right field to plate Jacob.
After leaving three runners stranded in the second and third innings, the Seminoles broke through with the tying run in the fourth inning. Right fielder LaShaun Davis was hit by Street to start the frame then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kim Hoffer. Catcher Melissa Wood drove in Davis with an RBI single to make it a 2-2 game.
Florida State manufactured the go-ahead run in the fifth inning. Wootson led off with a single, then stole second and advanced to third when the catcher's throw sailed into center field. Shortstop Yuruby Alicart tallied her second game-winning hit in three games as her single up the middle plated Wootson.
The Eagles stranded six runners on base with two in the first, third and fifth innings.
Game 2 ? Florida State 10, Georgia Southern 2
Fresh off the victory in game one, McDonald picked up her third-straight win by surrendering just two unearned runs on two hits with five strikeouts in five innings of work. Eagles' starter Logan Free (Sandpoint, Idaho) didn't make it out of the first inning as she surrendered seven runs to take the loss.
In a bizarre first inning that took 40 minutes, the Seminoles scored nine runs but only collected two hits. Free walked five of the nine batters she faced - including three in a row with the bases loaded - and hit another while a fielding error brought in one. Reliever Melissa Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) walked the first batter she faced then gave up two more hits to account for the final two runs of the inning.
With one out in the first, center fielder Whitney Buckmon was hit by a pitch then second baseman Veronica Wootson walked. After the duo each stole a base, Carly Brieske's ground ball was misplayed, scoring Buckmon. Right fielder LaShaun Davis was walked to load the bases.
One out later, Free walked three straight for a 4-0 FSU lead. Laliberte walked left fielder Natasha Jacob then gave up a two-run single to Buckmon. Wootson cleared the bases with a triple to make it a 9-0 game in FSU's favor.
Mistakes were not limited to the Georgia Southern side as Florida State made four errors in the second inning to give the Eagles their only two runs