South Florida ace Georgina Corrick leads the country in ERA and strikeouts and is one of three finalists for National Player of the Year. She threw a seven-inning, complete-game shutout against Mississippi State in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional on Friday.

On Saturday, USF's coaches decided not to pitch Corrick against the host Florida State Seminoles in the winners' bracket game. And the No. 2 national seed, after a two-and-a-half-hour weather delay, took advantage in a big, big way.

Florida State sent 13 batters to the plate and scored seven runs in the top of first inning on its way to an 8-0, five-inning victory over the Bulls. The Seminoles (54-5) will play again on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Mississippi State in the championship round.

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"This team got after it Pitch 1," FSU head coach Lonni Alameda said. "Obviously, we were thinking we were getting Corrick. So, your mindset flips. You're getting somebody else. And to be able to rely on getting after a swing for the team ... and I think that just really set the tone."

Against starting pitcher Antoinette Hill -- who had thrown only 29 innings all year compared to Corrick's 273 -- the inning started with a single off the first baseman's glove by Kaley Mudge. Sydney Sherrill walked. Kalei Harding ripped an RBI single to center, and Mack Leonard followed with a two-run double to left field.

Devyn Flaherty had an RBI groundout, Jahni Kerr and Michaela Edenfield both ripped singles, Chloe Culp was hit by a pitch, and Josie Muffley lined an RBI double to left.

By the time Mudge batted for the second time in the inning, the score was 6-0 and Hill was out of the game. The Seminoles added one more in the frame before Leonard grounded out with the bases loaded.

The damage was done, though. The Seminoles had a 7-0 lead with ace Kathryn Sandercock in the circle. The game was essentially over before the Bulls had even had a chance to bat.

During his mid-game interview on the ESPN-plus broadcast, USF head coach Ken Eriksen said it was "day-off time" for his star pitcher.

The Seminoles didn't relax when Hill went into the circle. Instead, they pounced.

"We were prepared to face Georgina," Leonard said. "We know she's a pretty good thrower, and to honestly expect their best game. We expect that out of everybody. And we just had to adjust to whoever was coming in.

"I wouldn't say it fazed us too much."

Sandercock obviously wasn't fazed, either. She said she couldn't remember if she had ever taken the circle with a seven-run lead in the first inning before, but she assumed she had because she plays at Florida State. And Florida State wins a lot of games and scores a lot of runs.

Either way, she did say she felt very comfortable when she trotted out to the middle of the diamond for the bottom of the first inning (FSU was the visiting team because of an NCAA rule where you have to be the away team at least once in your first two games of the tournament).

"It's totally relaxing," Sandercock said with a smile about the 7-0 lead. "It just takes a weight off your shoulders knowing that you can just kind of go out there and do your thing. And if you give up a run or two, your team has already given you a pretty good cushion."

Pinch-hitter Amaya Ross added to the cushion with a solo homer to left in the top of the fifth inning. Leonard then came on in relief in the bottom of the fifth to set down the Bulls in order for a second-straight 8-0 run-rule win for the Seminoles.

It was the 24th straight regional victory for Florida State, which is now the longest streak in the country thanks to Alabama falling to Stanford on Saturday.

Sunday's championship round was originally scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., but it has been changed to 2 p.m. The Seminoles will face Mississippi State, which eliminated USF late Saturday night.

FSU needs just one victory to move on to the NCAA Super Regional round, while the Bulldogs would need to defeat the Seminoles twice.

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