The Florida State softball team is one win away from its first national championship.
Sophomore Anna Shelnutt hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning, Meghan King outlasted Washington’s Gabbie Plain in a pitchers’ duel, helping the Seminoles secure a 1-0 victory in Game 1 of the Women’s College World Series on Monday night in Oklahoma City.
FSU and UW will play Game 2 on Tuesday at 8 p.m., with the Seminoles also vying to become the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to win a national title in softball. If necessary, Game 3 will be Wednesday at 8 p.m.
The Seminoles, who have been resilient winning six elimination games during this NCAA tournament, are off to an ideal start in their first WCWS final round.
Ten of the last 13 national champions have won the first game of the final series.
“It seems like everything’s in your favor, but for this program right now the most important thing is first pitch [Tuesday], and next pitch after that, and next pitch after that,” coach Lonni Alameda said, referencing FSU’s 1-0 lead over LSU in the Super Regionals last year before being eliminated two games later.
“So we’ve addressed it. We’ve talked about it. Granted, we’ve never been here before, and we have a lesson that we’ve learned. It was heartbreaking, and we want to make sure we stay in the moment.”
King gave up a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh inning, but senior third baseman Jessie Warren made a diving catch on a sacrifice bunt to force a double play. UW’s Kelly Burdick had a two-out single, but the Seminoles were able to remain stout defensively to secure the win.
“This is weird to say, but that’s Jessie,” Alameda said of Warren’s highlight play that cemented FSU’s momentum in the final inning.
“Jessie plays, everyone looks at her offensive production, and it is amazing. And her success is amazing. But she plays third base like a shortstop. She makes those plays all the time. She loves playing the game, so we’ve seen her do that a bunch of times. So it was, you know, big-time players make big-time plays in big moments.”
Shelnutt’s home run helped the Seminoles breakthrough offensively, after having several opportunities throughout the game to score. FSU was 0-9 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight players on base.
Shelnutt said seeing Plain’s pitching another round through the lineup helped her get the pitch needed to put FSU in front.
“We made her work,” Shelnutt said of Plain, who gave up five hits with six strikeouts and three walks on 122 pitches.
“We made her throw a lot of balls. And I think everybody battling earlier in the game is what got me that one pitch that I could drive out — it was the person that had her 3-2 and was battling five at-bats before. It wore her down to where she would throw me one that I could get a hit for my team.”
Warren had two doubles, while Morgan Klaevemann and Dani Morgan had hits of their own for the Seminoles.
King pitched seven full innings, giving up only five hits and two walks with six strikeouts on 112 pitches. In her last 33 1/3 innings, King has not surrendered an earned run.
FSU handed UW its first deficit of the WCWS, and first non-conference loss this season.
“Just gave up the one home run, and that was too bad that we couldn’t come through when we had chances, but I think we’re going to be all right,” UW coach Heather Tarr said.
Alameda wants her players to maintain their “one-pitch-at-a-time” mentality with hopes of securing a national title.
“They’re going to come out and fight and fight. Who knows what the end result will be tomorrow,” Alameda said of the Huskies. “But if we stay focused on the one pitch and what we need to do, the result will take care of itself. It’s just something we have to stay in the moment in, and that’s maturity, and that’s these guys. They’ve got to take control of that.”
