The Super Regionals is familiar territory for FSU softball (49-10, 18-3 ACC). FSU advanced by defeating Auburn 4-0 in a winner-take-all game in the Tallahassee Regionals.
It's the second consecutive year the Noles have reached the Supers. They defeated Georgia in the Supers to advance to the Women's College World Series in 2023, losing in the finals to Oklahoma. They lost to Oklahoma in the Super Regionals last year.
They'll host the No. 12 overall seed Texas Tech Raiders in the Super Regionals this year and face arguably the best pitcher in the country, Nijaree Canady.
The Stanford transfer has been a game-changer for a team that hadn't made it to the postseason since the 2019 season.
Texas Tech hits .328 and has a .404 on-base percentage. They don't hit for much power, with only 57 home runs. They only strike out in 13 percent of their at-bats. However, it's on the basepaths where they do damage, stealing 102 of 135 stolen base attempts.
They remind me of Lonni's Alameda teams from a few years ago, creating chaos on the bases and putting pressure on opposing defenses. They are solid defensively, with a .971 fielding percentage.
However, their pitching, specifically Canady, makes them a tough out. Canady is 28-5 with 16 complete games and a .092 ERA. She has 272 strikeouts in 191 innings, and opposing batters hit .156 against her. She has only walked 39 hitters and hit 19 batters all season. All five of her losses were against ranked opponents where she allowed no more than 2-3 earned runs.
They have two more pitchers who are solid but make no mistake, they will ride Canady until the wheels come off.
FSU faced Canady last season and beat her 4-2(one run was earned) when the Noles played Stanford in the Clearwater Invitational.
I'll go more in-depth on the keys to victory as we get closer to the game. FSU pitchers must tighten up with the walks, and the defense must be on point. However, the FSU offense must find a gear they didn't seem to have against Auburn in the Tallahassee Regional finals.