NCAA Tallahassee Regional Primer: A look at FSU Softball's opponents

The Florida State softball team enters NCAA postseason play tonight looking to embark on another run to the Women's College World Series and a shot at the second championship in program history.

Coming in as the No. 2 overall seed, FSU enjoyed one of the best regular seasons in program history, capping things off by winning the 2022 ACC Championship last week. The Seminoles stand at 52-5 overall and are have won their last 14 games.

Many key pieces are back from FSU's runner-up 2021 squad, which finished one win short of a national title. Among them are four first-team All-ACC performers: ACC Defensive Player of the Year Sydney Sherrill, ace senior pitcher Kathryn Sandercock, junior outfielder Kaley Mudge, and first base/pitcher senior Mack Leonard.

FSU hosts three opponents for the NCAA Tallahassee Regional: No. 2 seed Mississippi State, No. 3 seed South Florida and No. 4 seed Howard University. After the Bulldogs and USF battle it out in the first game at 5 p.m. ET, the favored ’Noles take the field against Howard at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN-plus.

Here’s a closer look at the three teams that stand between FSU and a ninth straight NCAA Super Regional appearance, and possibly yet another trip to the WCWS.

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Head Coach: Samantha Ricketts (93-52 career record, 3rd season at Miss. State)

Record: 33-24 overall, 10-14 Southeastern Conference

Key hitters: Senior catcher/infielder Mia Davidson (.390 BA, 21 HR, 41 RBI), senior outfielder Chloe Malau’ulu (.328 BA, 8 HR, 23 RBI), junior infielder Paige Cook (.323 BA, 8 HR, 41 RBI).

Top pitchers: Junior right-hander Kenley Hawk (11-7, 2.88 ERA, 127 Ks), senior right-hander Annie Willis (7-7, 2.73 ERA, 101 Ks), junior right-hander Aspen Wesley (7-7, 3.04 ERA, 67 Ks).

Season in review: A perennial NCAA tournament team, Mississippi State continued that success this year. While the Bulldogs might not boast the best record among No. 2 seeds in the regional round, they are battle-tested and took on a tough schedule this year. Along with SEC games, they faced an out-of-conference slate that included national seeds Oklahoma and UCLA. In the second round of the SEC Tournament, MSU lost a 1-0 game in 13 innings to Tennessee.

Mississippi State-FSU series history: The Seminoles and Bulldogs have squared off 14 times in their history, with the series record drawing to an even 7-7 overall. FSU and Mississippi State have some history against each other already in the postseason, with the ’Noles taking both recent meetings -- in 2009 in a Tallahassee Regional and in 2013 during a regional at South Alabama. MSU has reached the NCAA Tournament nine times since 2012.

Head Coach: Ken Eriksen (1,050-535-1 career record, 25th season at USF)

Record: 44-14 overall, 12-5 American Athletic Conference

Key hitters: Junior outfielder Alexis Johns (.348 BA, 18 RBI, 58 SB), sophomore catcher Josie Foreman (.271 BA, 7 HR, 27 RBI), junior infielder Dezarae Maldonado (.284 BA, 6 HR, 22 RBI).

Top pitchers: Senior right-hander Georgina Corrick (36-5, 0.53 ERA, 407 Ks), senior right-hander Erin Poepping (5-5, 3.24 ERA, 40 Ks), freshman right-hander Antoinette Hill (2-0, 3.14 ERA, 9 Ks).

Season in review: USF took down some nationally ranked programs like Michigan and Oklahoma State out of conference, starting the season an impressive 22-3. The longtime head coach Eriksen, who played baseball at USF in the 1980s, has been behind most of the achievements in school history and is only the Bulls' second head coach. USF was the second-best team in its conference this season but struggled against rival UCF, which earned the nation’s last regional host bid. After being swept by the Knights in the regular season, USF made it to the AAC title game but fell 11-0 to UCF.

South Florida-FSU series history: FSU has faced the Bulls 54 times over the past four decades. FSU holds a 41-13 edge in the series, which includes plenty of postseason meetings. This will be the fifth time South Florida has traveled to a Regional in Tallahassee since 2014. USF is a perennial NCAA Tournament team and made the WCWS in 2012 (the program also won two titles before softball was an NCAA-sanctioned sport).

Head Coach: Tori Tyson (70-85 career record, 4th season at Howard)

Record: 31-22 overall, 17-4 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Key hitters: Freshman catcher/infielder Alyssa Vasquez (.378 BA, 7 HR, 47 RBI), senior catcher/utility Camille Navarro (.360 BA, 1 HR, 23 RBI), senior infielder Kalita Dennis (.359 BA, 9 HR, 46 RBI).

Top pitchers: Senior right-hander Analise De La Roca (15-7, 3.05 ERA, 90 Ks), freshman left-hander Mia Gonzales (4-5, 4.90 ERA, 60 Ks), senior Sydney Hixenbaugh (7-4, 2.16 ERA, 22 Ks).

Season in review: This is only the second time the Howard program has reached the postseason. The Bison won the MEAC Tournament, beating No. 1 seed Morgan State in the conference title game, 5-4, with an RBI single in the seventh inning. Howard started the season poorly at 4-8 but turned things on once the team reached conference play.

Howard-FSU series history: A matchup between the Bison and FSU would be their first meeting.

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