Florida State softball got absolutely dominated by Alabama’s freshman pitcher Vic Moten in an 8-0 shutout loss in front of the home crowd in Tallahassee on Friday night. It should come as no surprise that the FSU offense has routinely struggled against power pitchers the last few years. The FSU offense is also relying on several freshmen and it's still early in the season.
Moten was throwing absolute gas, up to 74 mph at one point, and FSU didn’t have a legitimate hit until the game was out of reach late in the game. They only managed three hits, and two were bloopers. She had seven strikeouts, no walks, and only threw 86 pitches in seven innings. Â
It looked nearly the same as when FSU faced Texas Tech’s NiJaree Canady in the Super Regionals last season. Freshman Bella Dimitrijevic pitched well through the first three innings; however, Alabama tagged her for two home runs in the fourth inning, and that was all they needed since the FSU offense was nonexistent.
Dimitrijevic came out strong, striking out several Alabama batters and not allowing a hit until the first home run in the fourth. Freshman Marlee Gaskell came in to relieve her and promptly gave up a home run.
It’s easy to blame the young FSU pitchers, but the offense never gave them a shot, and Alabama has a potent offense that’s going to score runs if they see enough pitches.  The Noles will get another shot against Alabama on Saturday, and it’ll be interesting to see if they face Moten again.
I almost hope they do because they are going to have to prove they can hit power pitching if they want to have any shot to do damage in the post-season.