No. 13 Florida State took game one of its in-season series against No. 8 Florida on Wednesday, beating the Gators 3-1 behind a pair of Isa Torres home runs and a fourth-inning RBI single from Shelby McKenzie that solidified the win.
The victory moved the Seminoles to 40-7 (15-3 ACC) on the season and wrapped the team’s home schedule at JoAnne Graf Field, with ACC series against Georgia Tech and Boston College sandwiched around a second matchup against the Gators next Tuesday set to close out the regular
season.
Ashtyn Danley (9-1) earned the win after four innings of relief work, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out two on 61 pitches. Jazzy Francik started for FSU, giving up one run on five hits with two walks and no strikeouts in three innings on 55 pitches.
Florida grabbed the lead immediately with a leadoff home run off Francik, but failed to capitalize further off the frame as it stranded two runners.
Florida State answered immediately in the bottom of the first as Isa Torres worked a full count for a home run to tie the game at 1-1. FSU went quietly from there, with Jaysoni Beachum fouling out and Ashtyn Danley and Anna Hinde both grounding out to short.
The second inning was scoreless for both sides. Francik stranded a Florida threat, walking Cassidy McLellan to open the top half before inducing two groundouts and a flyout to strand McLellan at third. FSU had a similar opportunity in the bottom half, with Marin Heller drawing a walk and McKenzie singling to left-center, but Hayley Griggs hit into a fielder’s choice to end the inning with two left on base.
Florida threatened again in the third, with Erickson singling up the middle and stealing second before Cahalan walked to put two on with one out. Francik limited the damage, getting Thomas Townsen on a bunt single that loaded the bases before Brown grounded into an inning-ending double play.
In the bottom half, Torres struck again, this time launching one to deep center field to give FSU a 2-1 lead it would not relinquish. Hinde singled up the middle with two outs but was stranded when Bella Ruggiero grounded out to second.
Danley entered in relief to start the fourth, and with her came a reshuffling of the FSU lineup — Ruggiero shifted from right to left field, McKenzie moved to right from the designated player spot, and Francik’s place in the batting order was absorbed by Danley. Florida put two runners on via a Walker single and a Comia single through the right side but could not score, as Danley worked out of the jam with back-to-back outs to end the inning.
FSU pushed the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth on McKenzie’s RBI single. Kennedy Harp opened the inning with a single to shallow left field, and Heller drew a walk to put runners on first and second. McKenzie then lined a single to score Harp from second base, though Heller was thrown out trying to advance.
Danley navigated trouble in the fifth, hitting Grover and Townsen with pitches to put two runners on with one out, but Brown grounded into a double play to end the inning.
FSU went quietly in the bottom half against Miller, going three up, three down and Florida did the same in the top of the sixth on three straight lineouts. In the bottom of the sixth, Griggs doubled to left-center with one out and Beachum drew a walk — both advanced on a wild pitch but were left stranded when Danley grounded out.
Danley closed it out with a clean seventh, striking out Shumaker looking, getting Erickson on a groundout to short and retiring Grover on a popup to second to secure the victory.
