6/5/2023 other sports Edit

FSU softball set to take on Tennessee for spot in WCWS Championship Series

Curt Weiler • TheOsceola

Senior Writer

The Florida State softball team is one win away from another trip to the Women's College World Series Championship Series.

After the Seminoles beat Oklahoma State 8-0 on Thursday and Washington 3-1 Saturday night for their first 2-0 start in 12 trips to the WCWS, FSU got Saturday off while four other teams fought for the remaining two spots in the WCWS Semifinals.

On FSU's side, No. 4 seed Tennessee beat No. 6 seed Oklahoma State 3-1 Sunday evening to advance to take on the Seminoles on Monday at 7 p.m. (ESPN) at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

Because FSU won each of its first two games while Tennessee lost 9-0 to Oklahoma on Saturday night, FSU needs to beat the Volunteers just once while Tennessee needs two wins over FSU in order to advance.

If Tennessee were to win the first game against FSU, the second game would be played immediately after the first game late Monday night.

It bears mentioning that it won't be easy for Tennessee to beat FSU twice in a row considering the Seminoles have lost just one of their last 24 games entering the semifinals.

However, it also bears mentioning that FSU has come out of the loser's bracket to make the WCWS Championship Series in each of its last two trips, beating UCLA twice in a single day in 2018 and beating Alabama twice in a single day in 2021.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 9 seed Stanford and No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma play earlier Monday at noon on ESPN. The Cardinal will have to beat an OU team that has lost once all season and begins the day on a 51-game winning streak twice in a row in order to advance to the championship series.

Scouting Tennessee

Led by head coach Karen Weekly, the Volunteers (51-9) entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 overall seed coming off one of the best regular seasons in program history. The Volunteers won both the SEC regular-season championship (their second) and the SEC Tournament championship (their third), doing both in the same season for the first time in program history.

Of the regular members of UT's lineup, only three of them are hitting over .300 this season and the team batting average is .297 after Sunday's win. That being said, the Volunteers are anchored by one of the best hitters in the nation in senior outfielder Kiki Milloy. Milloy's 25 home runs this season are the most nationally and she's also hitting .416 (22nd nationally) with 40 stolen bases (tied for 10th nationally) in 41 attempts, 12 doubles, 86 runs scored and 51 walks.

In three WCWS games so far, Milloy is 3 for 9 (.333) with three runs scored, no runs batted in and only one extra-base hit, a double.

Zaida Puni and McKenna Gibson, the two other Tennessee starters who are hitting above .300 this season, are also the other main sluggers in the Volunteers' lineup. Puni, an Oklahoma transfer, is hitting .365 with 13 home runs and 14 doubles. Gibson is hitting .364 with 15 home runs and 11 doubles.

In the circle, the Volunteers' 1.69 earned run average is not far behind the Seminoles' 1.60 ERA and ranks eighth nationally. Like FSU as well, Tennessee relies on a wide array of arms with three pitchers throwing more than 85 innings this season.

While Oklahoma roughed the Volunteers up on Saturday, their pitching staff has otherwise excelled in the NCAA Tournament, allowing 12 total runs over the other seven games.

First-team All-SEC senior Ashley Rogers leads the way for the Vols in the circle with a 0.84 ERA over 142.1 innings, which ranks just ahead of FSU freshman Makenna Reid. Rogers averages well over a strikeout per inning with 178 on the season and holds opponents to a .132 batting average

Payton Gottshall has thrown 106.2 innings and posted a 1.57 ERA this season with 130 strikeouts to just 22 walks.

The third primary pitcher the Volunteers may use against FSU is freshman pitcher Karlyn Pickens. Pickens has remarkable speed with her pitches, reaching into the mid-70s vs. Oklahoma when few pitchers surpass 70 miles per hour on a regular basis. That has helped her amass 97 strikeouts over 85.1 innings, but she has also issued 37 walks, hit 16 batters and allowed six home runs, contributing to her 3.04 ERA.