Florida State avenges loss to Stetson and sends them home from the postseason

Florida State softball (51-9) passed its second do-or-die game on Saturday afternoon, avenging Friday’s embarrassing loss against Stetson with a dominant 11-3 win. The Noles will face UCF in the Tallahassee Regional finals, and must win two games to advance to Super Regionals.

It was the Ashtyn Danley show. She went 4-5 with three home runs and five RBI. The Noles scored two runs in the first inning and five runs in the second inning for an early 7-0 lead. Jaysoni Beachum had a monster grand slam to blow the game open, followed by Danley's first home run in the second inning to blow the game open.

Florida State responded all year after a losing a game and Saturday was no different.

Stetson trimmed the lead 7-3 after four innings, but FSU responded with two runs in the top of the fifth on Danley’s second home run and two more on Danley’s third home run in the top of the seventh.

Florida State pounded out 16 hits and had two walks, with only two strikeouts. Freshman Bella Dimitrijevic got the start inside the circle, pitching three innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, no walks, and one strikeout. FSU head coach Lonni Alameda showed a lot of confidence sending a freshman out to start in a must-win game. Her last few appearances should continue to build her confidence for future opportunities. Ashtyn Danley finished the final four innings, allowing two hits, one earned run, five walks, and three strikeouts.

The walks were a little much, which forced her to work out of some traffic. However, Danley’s performance was one of the most impressive we’ve seen this season. Isa Torres went 3-5 with a double, Anna Hinde went 2-2, and Madi Frey went 2-3.

Florida State’s offense was on fire in both games Saturday, and will look to continue that momentum against UCF, who destroyed Stetson 10-1 in the earlier game. UCF defeated Jacksonville State 2-1 in their regional opener.

I’ll have a Florida State vs. UCF breakdown later. The two teams are familiar with one another in regional play, having faced off in recent years. The first game on Sunday will take place at noon, with the second game at 2:30 p.m. ET if FSU wins the first.

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