FSU softball: Noles travel to Clemson for top 10 showdown

No. 6 FSU softball (29-7, 8-1 ACC) will travel to No. 4 Clemson (36-1, 12-0 ACC) Thursday for the showdown between the top two ACC teams. Clemson has won 23 games straight, including a win over Furman in midweek action Wednesday night.

The Noles haven’t been in action since sweeping Georgia Tech over the weekend for their fourth straight win. Clemson comes into the game, batting .357 with a .452 on-base percentage.

They strike out in 14.2 percent of their at-bats and are active on the basepaths, successful on 76 of 89 stolen base attempts.

One thing that stands out is Clemson batters have hit 53 home runs. Clemson pitchers bring a 0.70 ERA into the contest, striking out 217 batters in 229 innings.

They have only walked 44 batters and allowed three home runs. Clemson’s defense is outstanding, with a .982 fielding percentage.

FSU batters come into the game hitting .311 with a .423 on-base percentage. The Noles are 76 of 84 on stolen base attempts.

FSU pitchers bring a 1.83 ERA into the contest, striking out 201 batters in 222.1 innings. They have only allowed 11 home runs and 70 walks (which is still too many).
FSU’s defense needs improvement, with a .968 fielding percentage.

FSU’s trio of Devyn Flaherty, Mack Leonard, and Michaela Edenfield caught fire last weekend and will be huge if they continue to hit well. Katie Dack and Kalei Harding have been swinging the bat well too.

FSU pitchers will need to make Clemson batters earn everything they get and keep the ball in the ballpark, which they’ve done well with this season.

Clemson’s record is gaudy, but they haven’t played the same strength of schedule the Noles have this year. This series is where traveling to Oklahoma for those four games could pay dividends for FSU.

Clemson isn’t a team that beats themselves, but FSU could make a statement and take control of the ACC if they win this series.