No. 3 FSU Softball begins WCWS with mercy-rule win over No. 6 Oklahoma State

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Noles247) - No. 3 Florida State softball (56-9) began its journey in OKC with a dominant 8-0 win over No. 6 Oklahoma State (46-15) on Thursday night. Michaela Edenfield and Kaley Mudge each hit a homer to lead the offensive charge. Kathryn Sandercock tossed five scoreless frames in the circle to notch her 27th win of the season.

FSU: 8 runs / 7 hits / 1 error

OSU: 0 runs / 4 hits / 1 error

The game started nearly 80 minutes behind schedule due to inclement weather in the area. Edenfield got the Seminoles’ offense started early against left-hander Kelly Maxwell. Maxwell retired the first two FSU batters, but a Kalei Harding full-count walk extended the inning. Edenfield smoked the first pitch she saw in OKC over the left-center fence for a two-run blast, her 12th of the season:

Sandercock began her outing with 2.1 scoreless innings before the inclement weather came back. With nobody on and one out in the top of the third, the game entered a lightning delay, and the tarp was put back on the field at 9:09 p.m. ET. The game resumed nearly two hours later at 10:55 p.m. ET.

With a runner on first and two outs, Jahni Kerr cut off a liner to her left and made a strong throw into the infield, allowing Devyn Flaherty to snag the ball and tag the runner trying to extend a single into extra bases. The outfield assist ended the frame and helped Sandercock escape a potential jam.

In the bottom half, Kerr scored on an error to extend the lead to three. The Seminoles also ran into two outs in the frame, neutralizing what could’ve been a big inning. But the big inning wasn’t far away for the ‘Noles.

Following a scoreless frame from Sandercock, the Seminoles posted a crooked number in the bottom of the fourth to blow the game open. Josie Muffley plated Autumn Belviy with a perfect bunt to extend the lead to four. Then, Mudge crushed a three-run homer over the left field wall. The homer was Mudge’s fifth of the season. FSU led 7-0 through four.

Sandercock posted another scoreless frame in the fifth as she stranded two runners on base. She posted a final line of 5 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 R, and 88 pitches. The right-handed pitcher has only allowed two runs in 26.1 innings pitched this postseason.

Mack Leonard replaced her in the circle in the sixth. She set the Cowgirls down in order. Kerr plated pinch-runner Amaya Ross in the bottom half on a two-out single to walk the game of with a mercy-rule victory.

Up Next: FSU will play the winner of No. 7 Washington and No. 15 Utah on Saturday, June 3rd, at 7:00 P.M. The game will be televised on ESPN. Washington and Utah’s game was rescheduled to Friday.

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