5/30/2023 other sports Edit

Women's CWS caps: FSU, Oklahoma State, Washington, Utah

Lexi Kifoyl has 125 strikeouts and 35 walks in 131 innings. (USA Today Sports)

Bob Ferrante • TheOsceola

Editor

The Osceola takes a quick, statistical look at Florida State and the three other opponents in the pool in Oklahoma City. FSU takes on Oklahoma State on Thursday and then would face Washington or Utah in the second game.

Thursday's schedule

Tennessee vs. Alabama, noon (ESPN)

Oklahoma vs. Stanford, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Florida State vs. Oklahoma State, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Washington vs. Utah, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Florida State (55-9, 22-2 ACC)

Coach: Lonni Alameda has led FSU to the Women’s CWS five times since 2014 (also 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2023). The Seminoles have also won nine of 12 ACC Tournament titles since 2011.

Offense: .307 batting average (31st in DI), .404 on-base percentage (16th), .503 slugging percentage (22nd), .89 home runs per game (50th), 240 walks, 6.1 runs per game

Batting leaders

Batting average: CF Jahni Kerr (.362)

Home runs: C Michaela Edenfield and DH Katie Dack (11)

Doubles: Kalei Harding 21

RBI: Edenfield (53)

Runs: LF Kaley Mudge (17, 48)

Pitching/defense: 1.63 ERA (8th in DI), 2.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio (33rd), .968 fielding percentage (72nd)

Top pitchers

RHP Kathryn Sandercock (26-3, 1.10 ERA, 107 strikeouts and 17 walks in 172.1 innings)

LHP Makenna Reid (12-0, 0.93 ERA, 89 strikeouts and 19 walks in 75 innings)

RHP Mack Leonard (2-1, 2.85 ERA, 33 strikeouts and 16 walks in 34.1 innings)

FSU notes: The Seminoles have played one of the nation’s toughest schedules with 22 games against teams in the top 25 (21 on the road or at neutral sites like the Clearwater tournament). FSU went 16-6 against ranked opponents and 7-4 vs. teams currently in the top 10 of the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings. … FSU has two of the top three ERAs in the ACC between Reid (first) and Sandercock (third), with Reid's ERA fifth in Division I. Sandercock's ERA is seventh … Just over 40 percent of the Seminoles’ runs (154 of 384) have come with two outs.

Oklahoma State (46-14, 10-8 Big 12)

Coach: Kenny Gajewski has led Oklahoma State to the Women’s CWS in each of the last four seasons. He was an assistant coach on Tim Walton’s staff at Florida when the Gators won national titles in 2014 and ’15. Gajewski then was hired at OSU.

Offense: .327 batting average (seventh in DI), .414 on-base percentage (ninth), .505 slugging percentage (21st), .866 home runs per game (55th), 219 walks, 6.15 runs per game

Batting leaders

Batting average, on-base percentage, runs: 2B Rachel Becker (.449, .563, 61)

HR, RBI: SS Kiley Naomi (13, 64)

Pitching/defense: 2.06 ERA (17th in DI), 3.14 strikeout-to-walk ratio (22nd), .978 fielding percentage (8th)

Top pitchers

LHP Kelly Maxwell (16-5, 1.77 ERA, 223 strikeouts and 69 walks in 138.1 innings)

RHP Lexi Kilfoyl (15-5, 1.82 ERA, 125 strikeouts and 35 walks in 131 innings)

RHP Kyra Aycock (9-2, 1.24 ERA, 62 strikeouts and 23 walks in 91.1 innings)

OSU notes: The Cowgirls have 14 wins over top 25 teams, including a pair of Super Regional wins over No. 19 Oregon. Kilfoyl is an Alabama transfer, where she made 13 starts in 2022 and was one of the league’s top newcomers in 2021. A native of Land O’ Lakes, Fla., Kilfoyl had an 11-strikeout no-hitter of Maine earlier this year. … Becker owns the single-season school record with 22 doubles … Seven players are hitting .302 or higher and six regular starters have a .400 on-base percentage or higher

Washington (43-13, 16-8 Pac-12)

Coach: Heather Tarr played on Washington’s national runner-up team in 1996 and was on the Huskies team that took third in 1997. Tarr took over as head coach in 2005, winning a national championship in 2009. The Huskies were also the WCWS runners-up in 2018 to FSU.

Offense: .304 batting average (39th in DI), .392 on-base percentage (25th), .501 slugging percentage (23rd), 1.14 home runs per game (27th), 192 walks, 5.64 runs per game

Batting leaders

Batting average, on-base percentage, HR, RBI, runs: 2B Baylee Klingler (.388, .488, 12, 47, 42)

Pitching/defense: 2.57 ERA (45th), 3.38 strikeout-to-walk ratio (18th), .982 fielding percentage (4th)

Top pitchers

RHP Ruby Meylan (18-5, 2.19 ERA, 197 strikeouts and 47 walks in 169.1 innings)

RHP Kelley Lynch (9-3, 1.16 ERA, 101 strikeouts and 40 walks in 77.2 innings)

LHP Lindsay Lopez (13-3, 1.29 ERA, 83 strikeouts and 23 walks in 86.1 innings)

Washington notes: Klingler will be making her 250th career start on Thursday … OF Madison Huskey (yes, Huskey plays for the Huskies) has 11 home runs and 43 RBI. … Freshman Brooklyn Carter has 27 stolen bases … Washington is 4-4 vs. Oklahoma, Stanford and Utah (the Huskies took two of three vs. Stanford, are 2-2 vs. Utah and took a 5-4 loss to Oklahoma in February).

Utah (42-14, 15-9 Pac-12)

Coach: Amy Hogue has been Utah’s coach since 2008. She was named the Pac-12 coach of the year in 2015 and led the Utes to the Super Regionals in 2016-17. Utah is making its first trip to the Women’s CWS since 1994. Hogue was a player on that 1994 team.

Offense: .332 batting average (third in DI), .388 on-base percentage (32nd), .491 slugging percentage (31st), .83 home runs per game (57th), 121 walks, 6.25 runs per game.

Batting leaders

Batting average, on-base percentage, runs: 2B Aliya Belarde (.400, .457, 53)

Home runs: SS Karlie Davison and 1B Ellessa Bonstrom (11)

RBI, doubles: 3B Julia Jimenez (52, 14)

Pitching/defense: 2.71 ERA (66th), 2.13 strikeout-to-walk ratio (85th), .964 fielding percentage (106th)

Top pitchers

LHP Mariah Lopez (23-6, 2.15 ERA, 201 strikeouts and 77 walks in 191.2 innings)

RHP Sydney Sandez (13-5, 3.04 ERA, 83 strikeouts and 42 walks in 106 innings)

LHP Sarah Ladd (5-0, 1.49 ERA, 34 strikeouts and 22 walks in 51 innings)

Utah notes: The Utes have never had more than six players named all-conference, but in 2023 have had eight selected to the Pac-12 team. Aliya Belarde, Ellessa Bonstrom, Abby Dayton and Mariah Lopez were named to the first team. … Utah hosted and won a Super Regional for the first time, and it came on the heels of claiming a first Pac-12 tournament title. … The Utes swept No. 5 Stanford and dropped a series at Washington during a stretch from April 14-23. … Lopez is the first Ute to 200 strikeouts in more than a decade.