FSU Softball knocks off No. 3 Alabama, advances to WCWS finals

Alabama's Montana Fouts came into Monday night's showdown after two of the most impressive performances in recent Women's College World Series history.

She struck out 16 batters in her first start in Oklahoma City and then hurled a perfect game in her next one. But the Alabama starter didn't make it out of the third inning against the Florida State Seminoles.

Elizabeth Mason hit a three-run homer in the first inning against Fouts, and then her teammates strung together a number of productive at-bats to chase the Alabama All-American and help lead the Seminoles to an 8-5 win on Monday night.

With the victory, FSU advances to the WCWS finals against No. 1 Oklahoma. The Seminoles and Sooners will square off in a best-of-3 series starting Tuesday night.

"When you get here, you've got to make sure you can link those at-bats together," FSU head coach Lonni Alameda said. "And for this ball club, we've had to link at-bats together all season. So we're very comfortable with that. We're comfortable with failing, we're comfortable with having quality at-bats, we're comfortable with moving our runners.

"And if one crooked (number) goes up because someone gets a homer, that's a bonus for us."

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It was evident early on that Fouts wasn't going to decimate the FSU lineup like she had the previous two she had faced.

The first two batters reached base - after zero reached in her last start - to set the stage for senior Elizabeth Mason, who once again delivered an enormous hit for the Seminoles.

She blasted a massive homer to left-center to give FSU a 3-0 lead in the first inning against one of the best pitchers in the country.

"I just wanted to get the barrel there," Mason said. "She supplies a lot of power. As long as I could get the barrel through the zone, I knew it would be hard hit. I'm just glad it went over the fence. I think a home run in the first inning is a great way to start the game."

Her teammates then chased Fouts from the game in the top of the third, putting up another five runs to take an 8-0 lead in the semifinal showdown.

Kalei Harding had a two-run single with two outs, Kaley Mudge had an RBI single and Sydney Sherrill followed with a double to left to score another run. Mudge went 5-for-5 for the game, which tied a WCWS record for hits in a game, and she also made a terrific diving catch in the bottom of the seventh inning.

"Home runs are great," Mudge said. "Situational hitting is great. We just try to play one pitch at time, putting the ball in play and try to run the bases the best we can."

Florida State didn't score another run, and Alabama battled back, with two runs in the third and three runs in the fifth. But the Crimson Tide couldn't get any closer as the Seminoles wrapped up the 8-5 victory with a scoreless seventh inning.

Danielle Watson and Caylan Arnold both pitched in relief of ace Kathryn Sandercock to preserve the victory.

It was a record eighth straight win for the Seminoles in an elimination game in Oklahoma City, dating back to the 2018 College World Series.

Alabama had won 20 consecutive games going into the NCAA semifinals before losing two straight to FSU.

The Seminoles' next opponent, Oklahoma, has been at the top of the rankings all year. The Sooners also came out of the losers' bracket after dropping Game 1 to James Madison and have now won four in a row heading into Tuesday night.

The Sooners, who lead the nation in a number of offensive categories, have lost just three games all season.

The University of Oklahoma also happens to be where Alameda went to school.

"I'm super proud of graduating from the University of Oklahoma," she said. "I'm very proud of what we did. We broke into the Top 25, and I know ever since they've done an incredible job. I'm a big fan of the game of softball. And you always root for your alma mater, but when you play against them you root for the team you're coaching. ... I'm excited and I'm real excited to play in a full stadium.

"It's going to be so special. I'm looking forward to it. Our players are looking forward to it. And it's going to be an honor to play here and be one of the two teams still standing."

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