The Florida State softball team continued their quest to make it to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series when they welcomed Texas Tech to JoAnne Graf Field for the best-of-three Super Regional. The Seminoles were the No. 5 overall seed, while the Red Raiders were the No. 12 seed.
Team 42 fought hard all year and battled through adversity, including coach Lonni Alameda being diagnosed with breast cancer in March and a shooting that rocked the community in April.
Despite their resilience, their story concluded on Friday night when FSU dropped its second game to Texas Tech. The Seminoles fell in Thursday’s night's game 3-0 and again on Friday afternoon 2-1.
“Didn’t really have an answer today,” FSU coach Lonni Alameda said. “Tried our best, and then we just got to make sure that we put our head on the pillow tonight and know we gave it our all and that’s the challenge we had yesterday.”
The Seminoles had some of the best hitters in the Atlantic Coast Conference, including sophomore infielder Isa Torres and senior catcher Micaela Edenfield. Even the most skilled hitters were doomed from the opening pitch of the first game by Texas Tech All-American junior pitcher NiJaree Canady.
Florida State had prepared all week for Canady, but reality set in from the start. The Seminoles simply didn’t have an answer for Canady.
After throwing only 79 pitches to shut out FSU in game one, Canady got the start in game two and picked up right where she left off by getting a quick 1-2-3 first inning. Senior Julia Apsel got the start for the Seminoles, issuing a leadoff double to junior Mihyia Davis. The play was a routine groundball to Torres, but she bobbled the ball and made an arrant throw that got away from sophomore first baseman Angelee Bueno.
This would be a recurring theme throughout the game as the Seminoles had a rough day fielding the ball and would wind up committing four errors on Friday. Apsel would hit a batter and would give up a sacrifice fly to give the Red Raiders an early 1-0 lead before grounding out Canady to end the inning.
Every time Florida State came to bat, it seemed repetitive, and they were never able to get anything going. Pop-up after pop-up and ground ball after ground ball was basically every inning. Canady pitched four 1-2-3 innings and seemed simply unstoppable.
The Red Raiders would tack on another run in the fifth inning to make it 2-0 while the Seminoles continued to struggle at the plate.
In FSU’s final at-bat there looked to be signs of life as Canady walked senior outfielder Katie Dack to start the inning. Edenfield followed with a double and put the Seminoles in good scoring position with runners on second and third with no outs. Freshman infielder Shelby McKenzie knocked in a run on a sacrifice groundout, cutting the lead to 2-1.
With the tying run on third base and one out, senior Hallie Wacaser stepped to the plate to try her best to make contact off one of Canady’s pitches. Sophomore third baseman Jaysoni Beachum was on deck, and everything looked to end in a thrilling finish.
JoAnne Graf Field was loud, and the momentum seemed to be pushing towards the Seminoles with every pitch. Unfortunately, Wacaser and Beachum both popped out to end Florida State’s season.
“So very proud of the team and proud of the season,” Alameda said. “Take a little while to hug and love our seniors then we’re going to get on to a mission to make them proud next year.”
Every one of Alameda’s teams are special in a unique way. The 2025 softball team has to be one of the most resilient teams in recent years. After everything this team has been through this year, making it to the super regional against one of the best, if not the best pitcher in collegiate softball is an accomplishment.
The season didn’t end the way fans would have liked, but this team was loved by the fans and holds a special place in their hearts. The 2025 softball team will be remembered forever as a team that was resilient, gritty and mentally tough.
The future will continue to be bright for Florida State softball despite the unfortunate loss to the Red Raiders. Alameda has proven time after time that her teams will be tough and will compete for their place among the nation's best teams annually.
