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FSU softball: Top early takeaways from 2023 season

By Kelvin Hunt

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - JUNE 08: Kathryn Sandercock #32 of the Florida St. Seminoles pitches during the seventh inning of Game 1 of the Women's College World Series Championship against the Oklahoma Sooners at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium on June 08, 2021 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Seminoles won 8-4. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - JUNE 08: Kathryn Sandercock #32 of the Florida St. Seminoles pitches during the seventh inning of Game 1 of the Women's College World Series Championship against the Oklahoma Sooners at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium on June 08, 2021 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Seminoles won 8-4. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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FSU softball (15-3) recently finished the Unconquered Invitational, six games over four days, winning all six. The Noles faced an early season test at the Clearwater TaxAct Invitational, playing five ranked teams, finishing 3-2 with the two losses by a combined three runs.

The Noles avenged the other loss on its record and will play in the Dugout Club Classic this weekend before traveling to Oklahoma to play No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 1 Oklahoma before entering conference play.

FSU softball has shown the ability to play at an elite level but has shown the propensity to play to their level of competition.

They’ll need to use the next few games to tune everything in preparation for some elite teams. Here are my top takeaways through the first part of the season:

  • Freshman pitcher Makenna Reid has proven a viable 1B to Katheryn Sandercock as a reliable pitcher. It’s arguable she’s 1A, but it’s hard to overlook Sandercock’s experience.
  • Transfer Alison Royalty can be a quality arm but must find consistency with her control and avoid so many walks. She has 15 walks in 25 innings pitched compared to three walks in 40 innings pitched to Sandercock.
  • Offensively, Mack Leonard, Michaela Edenfield, and Devyn Flaherty must be better at the plate. All three are far below their season batting average from last year, though Leonard has
  • Defensively, FSU must improve as they average nearly an error per game. They miss Sydney Sherill defensively at third base something serious.

These areas will determine how far FSU softball goes this year. The emergence of Makenna Reid to help Sandercock carry the load is something they didn’t have last year.

If Royalty can find the consistency that would be a huge third arm. Offensively, they need those three to get going, especially Edenfield and Flaherty.

If they get going, coupled with those already playing well, that likely means an uptick in offensive production, which is something they’ll need since I’m not sure this team will be as good defensively as last year’s team.

They have some ingredients to make some noise deep into the post season, but it’ll be up to Lonnie Alameda to get them to mesh all at the right time.

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