‘Noles Softball eliminated after Loss to Baylor

The Florida State Seminoles became the first team eliminated from the 2014 Women’s College World Series today, dropping an elimination game to the Baylor Bears by a score of 7-2.

After pitching in FSU’s 3-0 loss to Oregon, National Player of the Year Lacey Waldrop once again took the circle for the ‘Noles and posted a 1-2-3 first inning. She was certainly aided by a running Courtney Senas catch in left-centerfield that took extra bases from Baylor.

But after tallying just one base hit against the Ducks on Thursday, the Seminoles’ inauspicious offensive play continued this afternoon, as Baylor starting pitcher Heather Stearns fanned all three FSU batters in the bottom of the first.

The Bears’ bats did perk up in the second. Clare Hosack led off with a single up the middle, and when Linsey Hays hit another toward second, Maddie O’Brien ranged over from her shortstop position and looked to have a taylor-made double play, but the ball bounded off the bag and into center field, giving BU runners at the corners. Sarah Smith then grounded a ball right at O’Brien, who probably could have come home to cutdown Hosack. She took the sure out at first, though, and Baylor led 1-0.

Briefly.

The next batter, Jordan Strickland, caught a Waldrop offering up in the zone and crushed it over the left-field fence, increasing the Bears’ lead to 3-0.

Waldrop retired Baylor in order in the third, and then Alex Kossoff notched the Seminoles’ first hit of the game with a swinging-bunt two-out hit. BU intentionally walked O’Brien to bring up Tiffani Brown with two aboard. Brown worked a walk, loading the bases for Super Regional hero Senas. But Senas struck out for the second time in the game, and Florida State saw a great scoring opportunity pass it by.

But the Baylor attack didn’t abate.  Hosack singled again to begin the fourth, and Hays followed suit. With runners on first and third and nobody out, Smith popped out to first. Hays then drew a throw from Gomez when she took off for second, prompting Hosack to try for home, where she was gunned down by O’Brien. The Bears got their run anyway, though, when Briana Hamilton booted a Strickland grounder that should have ended the inning. A solid single to right from Robin Landrith plated Strickland, who made it all the way to second on the Hamilton error, and the ‘Noles faced a 5-0 deficit at the end of the frame.

FSU went to backup pitcher Jessica Burroughs to start the fifth. She got the Bears in order, and Kossoff picked up her — and the team’s — second hit with another infield variety in the bottom of the inning. O’Brien once again walked, and Brown’s infield single gave Senas another bases-loaded chance, this time with just one down. Senas absolutely smoked a line shot– but right to Hays in left, bringing up Hamilton. She had a great at bat, fouling off numerous pitches before singling to score Kossoff and O’Brien and cut the gap to 5-2.

That was it for Stearns, as Baylor went to the bullpen for two-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Whitney Canion. The lefty induced a warning-track fly out from Kelly Hensley that would have tied the game, and the Bears escaped further damage.

A bunt single got Hays her third hit of the day in the sixth, and she nabbed her second steal of the day to get into scoring position. But where she was on the base paths wouldn’t wind up mattering, because Strickland authored her second two-run longball of the afternoon to reclaim a 5-run spread at 7-2.

Ellie Cooper blasted a double off the wall to commence the ‘Nole sixth, and a Victoria East walk brought up the slumping Gomez. She worked a full count, but then popped out on a pitch that would have surely been called ball four. Kossoff slapped a line drive to Strickland at short, and East was nearly doubled off at first. That left it up to O’Brien, the ACC Player of the Year. She joined the group of Seminoles to hit a ball hard– but right at someone. Her line out to Strickland ended the threat.

This was the Seminoles’ first trip to the Women’s College World Series since 2004. And you could tell. In each of their games, FSU looked simply overmatched, perhaps reflective of its questionable ACC competition (the conference has never produced a team that won the World Series). Their stars did not perform up to their abilities, and the ‘Noles just seemed tentative and unconfident at the plate.

The good news is that Florida State’s leaders — Waldrop and O’Brien — are just juniors. They’ll be able to build on this experience and return to a Seminole squad that has reasserted itself as the class of the ACC.