FSU softball: Three keys to success against No. 15 Tennessee

FSU softball (5-0, 0-0 ACC) will enter one of the toughest stretches of their schedule when they take on No. 15 Tennessee Thursday afternoon in the ESPN Elite Invitational in Clearwater, Florida.

The Noles avoided a late comeback attempt by South Alabama Wednesday afternoon in a 4-3 win.

However, the competition will be much stiffer in the coming days, and the Noles will need to play well in all three phases of the game to find success.

Here are some keys to defeating Tennessee Thursday afternoon:

• Pitchers Must Work Ahead In Counts
• Patience at the plate
• No freebies(walks) from FSU pitchers

Tennessee hasn’t swung the bats particularly well even against sub-par competition. They come into the game batting .240 as a team with only three hitters batting .300 or better. They only have an on-base percentage of .319 and strike out 14 percent of the time.

FSU batters swung at several first pitches Wednesday against S. Alabama, and while I’m an advocate of that, I felt like they were too aggressive. Tennessee pitchers have already issued 10 walks through four games, and they’ll kick it around on defense with four errors through four games. FSU batters need to find ways to get on base and put pressure on the Tennessee defense with their speed.

Kathryn Sandercock allowed one run Wednesday against S. Alabama, and it was a lead-off walk in the top of the fourth inning on four pitches. As I mentioned, Tennessee hasn’t hit the ball well and will strike out quite a bit. FSU pitchers must work ahead in the count and not issue free passes.

If FSU softball can do these three things, I believe they’ll find success Thursday afternoon. They have looked like the better team in the first week of the season in all three phases. The game will begin at 4 p.m. ET and will air on the ESPNU channel. Make sure you follow Chopchat on Twitter for LIVE updates if you can’t watch the game.