It looked like deja vu for awhile there.
Thankfully for them, the Florida State softball team changed the inning this time.
A year after the Seminoles were swept out of their home regional by Mississippi State after winning the first two games of the weekend, FSU was again in the driver's seat entering Sunday after wins over Marist and UCF.
And once again, the road opponent, this time South Carolina, won the first game 4-0 Sunday afternoon to force a winner-take-all final game of the Tallahassee Regional.
Although that pushed FSU to the brink of elimination, the Seminoles made sure they wouldn't see the same fate end their season for the second straight year.
Kathryn Sandercock made sure of that. Facing the end of her FSU career if the Seminoles lost Sunday's second game, the senior pitcher came through with one of the most impressive outings of her prestigious FSU career.
With the season on the line, Sandercock threw a perfect game in the circle against the Gamecocks, securing a 1-0 win to keep the Seminoles' season alive.
In many ways, it was a prototypical start by the groundball pitcher. She had five strikeouts, induced 15 groundouts and one infield popout. South Carolina didn't hit one ball out of the infield.
Even a rain delay in the bottom of the fifth inning couldn't knock her out of her groove. She returned with ease after the 40-minute delay -- and the better part of an hour between pitches -- and still retired the final six batters she faced.
The Seminoles scored the only run they would need in the third inning. Josie Muffley led off the inning with a single to center, advanced to second on a groundout to third and came in to score on a throwing error by South Carolina starting pitcher Bailey Betenbaugh on a bunt by Jahni Kerr.
It was far from the most effective day from the FSU lineup at the plate. The Seminoles had just two hits in Sunday's first game and eight hits over both games combined. They also had a span of 22 straight batters retired -- over one full game -- between the end of the first game and the start of the second game.
But the gem from Sandercock was enough to cover the fact that FSU scored one combined run over 14 total innings Sunday.
With the win, the Seminoles advance to their ninth NCAA Super Regional in the last 10 seasons next weekend. That will also be at home as No. 3 overall seed FSU will host No. 14 Georgia, which swept through its home regional, for a best-of-three series next weekend with the winner advancing to the Women's College World Series.
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