Just minutes after Auburn tied the game in the bottom of the 5th, the floodgates opened. And, thankfully, not the rain that had caused delays during the Tallahassee Regional.
Kaley Mudge drew a bases-loaded walk to start an unexpected seven-run inning, with Jaysoni Beachum hitting an RBI single, Kalei Harding a two-run single and Isa Torres a three-run home run as FSU routed Auburn 10-4 on Sunday night for the regional title. All of FSU's runs in the sixth were scored with two outs.
"We've been through it, huh?" FSU coach Lonni Alameda said as she turned to Michaela Edenfield and Isa Torres in the postgame press conference. "We've been through it as a team. We've tried to figure out how we can get gutsy. We talked about having grit, how do you get grit."
FSU (46-14) showed grit, knocking off all three regional teams on consecutive days — first Chattanooga and then UCF on Saturday before taking down Auburn (29-21-1). The Seminoles won by a combined 18-7.
The Seminoles leaned heavily on freshman left-hander Ashtyn Danley, who started and eventually re-entered the game to wrap it up. Danley (18-5) allowed four earned runs on five walks but was the steady presence after Allison Royalty left the game due to an undisclosed injury.
And Danley also fielded her position well, turning a double play to end the sixth (among other plays).
Michaela Edenfield stepped up to the plate and crushed a two-out, three-run homer in the third inning to give the Seminoles a 3-2 lead. Edenfield smacked her 15th home run of the season to become the co-home run leader this season with Beachum.
Despite all of the struggles against top-25 teams and the development of the team, FSU is in the Super Regionals.
Injury update
Royalty has been day-to-day with a variety of injuries for FSU, Alameda said after Sunday's game. There was no update on the extent of her injury or her availability for the Super Regionals.
Up next
FSU will travel to No. 2 national seed Oklahoma (51-6) in the best-of-three Super Regional. The Sooners knocked off Oregon on Sunday. The series will begin on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Friday's game will be at 8 p.m. (TBD).
It will be a rematch of the 2023 Women's CWS championship round, won in two games by the Sooners.
FSU is in the Super Regionals for the second straight season.
Follow The Osceola on Facebook
Follow The Osceola on Twitter
Subscribe to the Osceola's YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Osceola's podcasts on Apple
