FSU softball: Noles ready for gauntlet at TaxAct Clearwater Invitational?

FSU softball (6-1) began the 2023 season with a No. 4 national ranking and dreams of competing for another national championship after failing to get out of the Tallahassee Regionals last season as a No. 1 seed.

The Noles have gone 6-1 while avenging the lone loss as they set their eyes on much stiffer competition over the next few days of the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational.

This stretch of tough early season games isn’t new to the Noles, as they blew through a tough slate of highly-ranked teams last year with an unblemished record. Can they do the same thing this year?

They’ll take on No. 15 Arizona Thursday at 4 p.m. The game will air on ESPNU. They’ll face No. 4 Arkansas Friday at 1 p.m. and No. 2 UCLA Saturday at 10 a.m. before wrapping things up Sunday with a doubleheader against No. 22 Louisiana and No. 12 Alabama.

The Noles saw their ranking drop to No. 7 after the loss against Longwood. This tough slate of games always comes down to the basics, good pitching, defense, and timely offense. FSU pitchers have an 0.98 ERA, and the defense has only committed three errors in seven games.

The offense brings a .293 batting average and .408 OBP into Thursday’s game. FSU ace Kathryn Sandercock will likely get the start against an Arizona offense batting over .500. They put the ball in play and haven’t made any errors on defense thus far. Arkansas batters are hitting .331 overall but have 11 home runs through five games.

Their pitchers have a .24 ERA, but they aren’t overpowering, with only 23 strikeouts in 29 innings. Defensively, they’ve committed four errors for a .969 fielding percentage. UCLA is batting over .400 overall and already has nine home runs.

Their pitchers have a .51 ERA, and they strike out a ton of batters. Defensively, they’ve already committed six errors for a .963 fielding percentage which could be a liability. Louisiana batters are hitting over .400 through four games.

Their pitchers have a .32 ERA, and their defense has only committed one error. Alabama has only played three games but lost to Lehigh last week. They are hitting .380 overall, and their pitching has a 3.68 ERA.

They haven’t committed any errors through three games. It’s a small sample size, but you can see these teams have strengths and weaknesses. I’m interested to see how FSU softball performs against better competition. How much will Kathryn Sandercock pitch? How will Allison Royalty and freshman Makenna Reid fare on the mound?

How will FSU batters perform against better competition? These games will be a great barometer for the tougher games on the schedule.