After 1-0 loss to No. 18 LSU in Game 2, No. 4 FSU 'excited' for Game 3
Never mind the big hit, which the No. 4 Florida State softball team has seemingly found throughout the season. Against No. 18 LSU on Saturday, the Seminoles did not pick up a single hit until the top of the seventh.
By then, it was too late for the Seminoles. Tigers pitcher Allie Walljasper proved to be too much for FSU (55-7-1), which fell 1-0 in Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regional on Saturday at JoAnne Graf Field. With the best-of-three series tied at 1-1, the team that wins the 1 p.m. Sunday contest advances to the Women's College World Series.
"This is exactly what we've trained for since we left [before the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament]," Seminoles coach Lonni Alameda said. "There's no reason to be upset. It's not about wins and losses. It's about how you play the game. We were present, we were getting after it, and we want to be that way tomorrow.
"If we sulk in our Cheerios right now, it's going to do nothing for us tomorrow. The past is the past, and now we're ready to go for tomorrow."
LSU, which was the home team due to NCAA rules, scored the game's only run in the bottom of the third and had a chance to pad its lead.
The Tigers (46-20) had runners on first and second when left fielder Aliyah Andrews slapped a single to right for a 1-0 lead. LSU loaded the bases when Warren caught an infield hopper and pocketed the ball instead of risking an error.
Seminoles redshirt sophomore pitcher Meghan King recovered by striking out Sahvanna Jaquish and Bailey Landry, the Tigers' No. 2 and 3 hitters for the first two outs. King was able to get out of the frame, but just barely. First baseman Amanda Doyle hit a pop-up but first baseman Alex Powers dropped the ball in foul territory.
Doyle, on a 2-2 count, punched a ball to shallow left, which was ruled foul by a foot at most. King escaped the frame by getting Doyle to line out to right field.
"She's a good pitcher. She just knows what pitches to throw sometimes," Andrews said about King keeping the Tigers to a run in the third. I think we did a good job of hitting her and taking the pitches to hit, but I think she did a good job and we had to adjust to that."
An inning later, the Tigers created another threat by getting runners on the corners with one out. LSU tried to squeeze the runner home with a sac bunt, but the play failed and FSU was able to force the second out with a rundown between third and home. King picked up the final out with a ground ball to third.
King easily had the toughest luck of any player in either dugout.
She was credited with a six-inning complete game and allowed only four hits plus the lone run. King, who falls to 27-3, also had a scary moment when she took a line drive to the side of her face in the bottom of the fifth inning.
"It took a little to shake it off because I'm not used to getting hit in the head with a ball," King said. "It was a poor pitch, and I did not execute it to the best of my ability and Sahvanna got her swing off. So things happen, but I'm fine."
Her effort, while strong, was overshadowed by Walljasper.
Walljasper, despite her dominant performance, only needed three strikeouts. She kept her infield busy by limiting FSU to four outfield putouts.
"I was just trying to keep a good balance out there," Walljasper said. "Mostly hit my spots. My defense behind was great, and they kept me in it."
Here's where things stand for each team.
LSU has a history of falling behind only to roar ahead. The Tigers fell behind in last year's Super Regional when they lost the opening game to James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va. Walljasper threw a complete-game shutout in a 2-0 win in Game 2 with the Tigers taking the series with a 3-2 victory in Game 3.
Even this year, the Tigers lost the first game of the Baton Rouge Regional but reeled off three straight victories to advance to the Super Regional.
"I liked our team's fight today," Tigers coach Beth Torina said. "It's not a spot we like to be in but, somehow, it appears to be a spot we can be successful in. Our team handles this spot well. I don't know the reasons why really, but we got a lot of huge performances today."
Then there's FSU.
Alameda said she's confident going into Sunday because it's rare to see her team have offensive struggles in consecutive games. FSU has only had two occasions where it has dropped consecutive games.
The first time came in mid-April with back-to-back losses to Florida and South Carolina. The second time was when it lost three straight at Oregon earlier this month.
Saturday marked FSU's first loss at home all season.
"We just met as a team downstairs, and we're excited for it," Alameda said of Game 3. "This is what we've wanted all season. You don't want a cupcake game, you want a get-after-it game. That's what it's going to be like when you roll into Oklahoma City [the site of the WCWS], too.
"We've trained for it, and we want this. I am completely excited about it ... I expect that same mentality tomorrow."
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