Florida State softball's offensive firepower was again on display in their final midweek game of the regular season.
And it's a good thing it was as the Seminoles needed each and every one of those runs Wednesday night in Gainesville.
Behind eight runs on 11 hits, No. 3 FSU (44-8) completed its season sweep of No. 17 Florida (34-17) with an 8-7 win at UF's Pressley Stadium.
The Gators loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning trailing by one run behind a pair of singles and an intentional walk. However, FSU freshman pitcher Makenna Reid induced a pop-up in foul territory behind home plate to strand the bases loaded and preserve the victory.
The win is FSU's 10th in a row and its 19th in the team's last 20 games. It's also FSU's fifth straight win over the Gators, marking a new program record for longest winning streak in the history of the rivalry.
Center fielder Jahni Kerr led the offensive charge for the Seminoles. She finished 3 for 3 with three RBI, coming through with an RBI single in FSU's three-run second inning and a two-run double in the team's four-run fifth inning.
In all, seven Seminoles had hits and 10 of them reached base in the victory as FSU also worked six walks and had one hit-by-pitch at the plate.
FSU's offense also wasted a few prime chances to pad its lead, stranding eight runners on base.
The game was as close as it was despite FSU's sizable 11-6 advantage in the hit column for a few reasons. For one, FSU second baseman Devyn Flaherty committed a pair of errors on misplayed groundballs hit her way. One led to an unearned run and the other extended an inning, but didn't lead to any runs coming across.
Additionally, FSU's pitching staff may not have been tagged for too many hits Wednesday, but it allowed far too many free passes. In all, FSU pitchers Mack Leonard and Allison Royalty combined to issue five walks, two hit-by-pitches and two wild pitches over the first five innings.
Although UF managed just six hits, two of which came in the seventh inning, three of those six were home runs. Two of those three homers came from UF shortstop Skylar Wallace, who is up to 18 home runs on the season.
While it wasn't the sharpest night for the FSU pitching staff, they performed well in adverse situations. The Gators twice stranded the bases loaded and stranded 10 runners in all in the home loss.
Reid threw the final two innings of the game, thriving on the big stage once again and recording her fifth save of the season.
Up next
After playing its final true road game of the regular season Wednesday night, the Seminoles close out the regular season this weekend at home against Louisville.
The Cardinals are in second place behind FSU in the ACC standings, 2.5 games back. This means that FSU clinches the regular-season ACC Championship with one win this weekend against U of L. The first game in the series is set for a 6 p.m. start on Friday.
