FSU softball: Wasted opportunities cost Noles against Oklahoma

FSU softball (58-10) lost the first game of the Women’s College World Series Wednesday night 5-0. Mack Leonard got the start on the mound and pitched well enough to give the Noles a chance to get a lead early.

She held Oklahoma scoreless through three innings but got pulled from the game after hitting the leadoff batter in the bottom of the fourth inning. It may have been a little early, but she was at the 50-pitch mark, which could have been a factor in the decision.

Coach Alameda brought Makeena Reid in to pitch, which I disagreed with because she’s a pitcher that stays up in the hitting zone. That’s not a good recipe for success against a team like Oklahoma, and Oklahoma scored three runs before FSU could stop the bleeding that inning.

However, it’s not why they lost the game. The FSU offense wasted several opportunities early, swinging at pitches way out of the strike zone, watching pitches right down the middle, and failing to cash in with runners in scoring position. FSU should have had at least 5-6 walks in the game.

Oklahoma had two uncharacteristic errors early that helped FSU get the leadoff runner on base in three consecutive innings, and FSU did nothing with it.

I know some FSU softball fans wanted Kathryn Sandercock to come into the game, but it was pointless if the offense couldn’t get going. Ali DuBois and Allison Royalty pitched in relief, and Oklahoma batters were hitting rockets off of them.

One hightlight for FSU was this catch by Kaley Mudge late in the game to prevent FSU from getting run-ruled:

Kathryn Sandercock will give the Noles a chance to even the series Thursday night, but it’ll be on the offense to make something happen. The Oklahoma hitters are much more disciplined compared to FSU, and it’ll take a Herculean effort from Sandercock if they fail to show up again.

FSU batters struck out 10 times and only had two hits in the game. The second game of the series will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.