FSU softball: Major takeaways from road series win against Louisville

FSU softball (28-10, 9-3 ACC) defeated the Louisville Cardinals 4-3 in Sunday's rubber match to win their third consecutive ACC series. The Noles lost Friday's game in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh inning. That could have taken the wind out of their sales, but they responded with a strong 8-4 win on Saturday for Coach Alameda's 900th career win, and came from behind to take Sunday's game. FSU pitching was handled mostly by Makenna Reid and Ashtyn Danley, with Emma Wilson providing some meaningful innings as the Sunday starter. FSU pitchers walked too many batters (12) this weekend and only struck out 18. However, they managed to limit the damage to keep FSU within striking distance in every game. The FSU offense was frustrating because they failed to take advantage of their opportunities with runners in scoring position. They didn't have a ton of hits this weekend. They had five in game one, but Louisville pitchers issued five walks, and FSU only managed four runs. The offense in game two was much better, banging out 10 hits and scoring eight runs.

However, Sunday's game saw the offense have six hits and only two walks. I know the umpire's strike zone left a lot to be desired this weekend, but the offense will have to be better against better teams. Nevertheless, it was a road series win, and the Noles had opportunities to earn their third consecutive ACC sweep but couldn't capitalize when they had runners in scoring position. It was the second straight weekend they've been without Allison Royalty's arm, which highlights the importance of Reid and Danley keeping the Noles in games to allow the offense to put runs up. The offense never had several of its hitters locked in at any point. They only had two players with multiple hits in each game. Michaela Edenfield and Isa Torres had a big game at the plate in game two. Jaysoni Beachum and Jahni Kerr were the only two Noles with two hits in game three. The Noles will not have any midweek games this week as they prepare to welcome Notre Dame to Tallahassee for a three-game series next Friday.