FSU softball: Noles welcome Virginia for three-game series in ACC play

FSU softball (33-7, 11-1 ACC) will look to build on its eight-game winning streak when they welcome Virginia (27-13, 7-8 ACC) to Tallahassee.

FSU defeated Jacksonville 2-0 Wednesday night, and Virginia defeated Liberty 3-0 Tuesday night.

The Cavaliers are batting .273 with a .363 on-base percentage. They strike out in 17.4 percent of their at-bats and are successful on 88 of 102 stolen base attempts.

Virginia batters have hit 42 home runs, 50 doubles, and 11 triples. Virginia pitchers bring a 2.17 ERA into the contest, striking out 279 batters in 268 innings.

They have only walked 104 batters and allowed 17 home runs. Virginia is excellent on defense, with a .979 fielding percentage.

Virginia’s strength is its pitching and defense, but they can manufacture runs with their aggressive base running when they get on.

FSU batters come into the game hitting .302 with a .412 on-base percentage. The Noles are 92 of 102 on stolen base attempts.

FSU pitchers bring a 1.65 ERA into the contest, striking out 220 batters in 250.1 innings. They have only allowed 12 home runs and 76 walks.
FSU’s defense needs improvement, with a .967 fielding percentage but they have been a bit better lately.

This series is all about the little things because Virginia doesn’t tend to beat themselves. If FSU pitchers don’t issue many free passes and the defense is solid, they should win this series or sweep the Cavaliers. The FSU bats weren’t great against a lowly Jacksonville team, but I wasn’t surprised by that after sweeping Clemson.

The Noles need Michaela Edenfield to remain hot at the plate and the usual suspects of Mack Leonard, Kalei Harding, and others to be productive against a strong UVA pitching staff.

I’m curious if Coach Alameda will use the same pitching rotation as she did against Clemson. If so, that’s likely what we’ll see the rest of the season.

The game will begin at 6 p.m. ET and air on the ACC Network.